For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.”  Hebrews 4:12

My husband has been wanting a new set of knives for years.  I couldn’t figure out why.  After all, I’m the one who does most of the cooking in our house.  I was proud just to have a knife set, albeit the cheapest one available more than a dozen years ago.  Sure, one of the blades comes off and the tip broke off another, but they worked for me.  Or so I thought. 

My mother-in-law gave us a new set for Christmas.  Saturday morning I skeptically pulled a knife from the block, believing the new would perform just as well as the old.  Was I wrong.  My arms didn’t tire out from needing to use brute force as an onion split apart in fear of the new weapon.  Everything I chopped succumbed to the sharp edges of the cold steel.  I quickly realized that my husband was right.  My old knives were awful.  They didn’t start out that way, but twelve years of use had their effect.   

The same is true in my life.  I have coping patterns, behaviors and attitudes that I’ve used for years.  Perhaps they were advantageous at first, but not any more.  Like my dulled set of knives, the progression of beneficial to worthless was gradual and I never noticed it.

We’ll be cutting through some great topics such as love, forgiveness, sacrifice and joy in the coming year.  It is my hope that they won’t just be words on a page.  I pray they’ll penetrate into our lives, slashing through our old ways and transforming us more into the likeness of our Creator. 

    Don’t just listen to Krista, Michele and me.  Pull out your knife, the word of God, and let it penetrate your marrow.