I love words. Actually, it is probably more accurate to say that I love to figure out what words mean. Where does meaning come from? Scholars throughout history have devoted a lot of time to answering this question. For me, the answer can be captured in this way: meaning isn’t in words—it is in people. Think of your recent conversations with others. Chances are that you can think of an example where you gave a different meaning to a word, phrase, or sentence than the other person in the conversation gave. It is in these moments of difference that we are faced with the choice of whether or not we will consider the possibility that another meaning exists.
In Hearing God, Dallas Willard considers what it means to be in conversation with God and how that meaning rests heavily on understanding our communion with God. In other words, my relationship with God influences the kind of conversation I have with God. For example, if I view God as a strict father who is ready to bop me on the head when I do something wrong, I am less likely to have in-depth conversations with him about how I am feeling. If I believe that the meaning for my life comes from God then I would most certainly want to engage in conversation with him. It just makes sense that the more time I spend with him the more my relationship with him develops. The more the relationship develops, the more I am able to understand what God means because I am getting to know him more and more. Of course, I must point out that none of us knows with a perfect certainty (1 Cor. 8:1-2) and that hearing from God is only “one part of a life of humility, power, faith and hopeful love” he calls us to live (Willard 40).
Knowing what God means begins with knowing what he has already said. If you haven’t done so in a long time or if you just did so this morning, consider the importance of how reading the Bible could or does influence your relationship with God. After all, we were meant to live on bread alone, but on “every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD” (Deuteronomy 8:3).