Alive or Dead?

For the word of God is living and active... Hebrews 4:12

The Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, He will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. John 14:26

What does it mean that the word of God is living and active?  To say that His word is living sounds like He is present to us in the moment.  If He is active, that He engages us through His word and that He directly interacts with us.  

If they are static words given in another time to another person then it is right for me to analyze, objectivize, characterize, memorize, and devise any way possible to understand what was said. If however, they are the living, present word of His Spirit in me, teaching me what He wants me to know in the moment, I need to listen to what is being  said.  How well do  I listen?  Do I even know how to listen?  What will I do with what I hear? Is my Father more interested in my understanding Him or obeying Him?  Does God expect us to ever really understand Him or is He more concerned about us trusting and following Him?  Is that not what faith means, to trust and follow?

We debate about what constitutes a high or low view of scripture?  Maybe the discussion is actually quite simple...do I listen or not?  Maybe the real question is not about scripture at all, the Bible assumes it is alive and active, maybe the question is not whether I have a high or low view of scripture, but a question of life...it is alive, is it alive in me?  James tells us to be doers of the word and not only hearers. (James 1:22)  Are the words dead in me until they are lived out by me?

I believe it was Mark Twain that said, "It is not the things in the Bible that I don't understand that bother me, it is the things that I do understand".  Am I more intent on explaining God than obeying Him?   I do know that when I understand something or someone it gives me a feeling of control.  Do I do feel that way with God too?

It might just be easier to debate how literal is literal and then do business as usual...but would that be living?

 Lord have mercy, Christ have mercy!