POWER OF WORD, POWERFUL WORD

Days ago, I went to Recto to order a rubber stamp. As there were a great number of rubber stamp makers lined up along the sidewalks of Recto, I randomly chose one. I gave the text of the rubber stamp and asked him if he can do it. He answered with an assuring nod. Without looking into my eyes, he priced the purchase for four hundred pesos. Quite a sum of money, I thought. I haggled for the item for two-hundred. He bargained for three. I gave in. He issued a receipt with the sum on it. But I insisted on paying half the price. the other half I will pay the next day when I will retrieve the item. He agreed. With soothing words, he reassured me "Surely you will have your stamp tomorrow." On my way back to the convent, I thought how foolish of me to shelve few pesos to a person I never met before, especially to a person from Recto, which is a notorious place for tricksters. I only had his words. He had my money.   

In our volatile and uncertain world, what are words? When only handful of persons uphold honor, what are words? Where promises and statements easily changes based on vested interest, how can one's words assure us?

Since time in memoriam, God gave us His words. We have the scriptures as the record of His words. But God's words are different from man's. The words of God are powerful for they turn into reality. Makapangyarihan ang Salita ng Diyos sapagkat ito ay nangyayari. When God said, let there be light, there was light. When Jesus said, "Let the temple be a place of prayer, the temple became a place of worship." God's words are reliable and worthy of trust because God fulfills His words. Thus, people were attentively listening to Christ. They hang on His words. 

What are the words of God to us?

According to a recent survey, in the past six years, the most referred scriptural passages are Jeremiah 29:11 and Philippians 4:6. In Jeremiah the verse reads: "'For surely I know the plans I have for you', says the Lord, 'plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope'." The author of Philippians writes: "Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God." These words of God address anxiety at their heart; a reflection of our deepest concerns in our lives today. May we ultimately find rest in the WORD of God, made flesh.

A day after, I closed a deal with a stamp maker in Recto, I went back to his makeshift stall to claim my order. To my worry, he was nowhere to be found. My suspicions were right, I thought, that man will not keep his words. I was tricked. Hoping for the contrary, I immediately brought out the receipt he issued and started asking other rubber stamp makers if they recognize the man who issued such receipt. One of them did. He was his nephew. He gave to me the stamp I ordered from his uncle saying "Pinasasabi ho pala ni Tito, maraming salamat." I paid my balance and thank them likewise. I had my stamp and the words fulfilled by a humble stamp maker.

In our world wanting of trust, many of us find solace in the powerful words of God; in the WORD incarnated, made flesh. 

On what word of God do you hang on?