Start With the Word

Start with the Word

“Go at once to Nineveh, that great city, and cry out against it...”
— Jonah 1:2

“Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight,
O Lord, my strength and my redeemer.”
— Psalm 19:14

“I pray that you may have the power to comprehend...”
— Ephesians 3:18

“If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples;
and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”
— John 8:31-32

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My walk of faith has unfolded in phases, each with its own beginning. The middle years of my life—especially the 1980s—were marked by a strong, outward commitment to Christ. I attended camps, wrote for Christian publications, and kept close to church life. I longed to be a bold disciple.

But I tried too hard to straddle two worlds.

In college and early adulthood, especially in the corporate world, I projected a pious front: I avoided alcohol (mostly), watched my language (in select company), and practiced strict abstinence. But underneath, I was masking a deeper struggle—using the trappings of faith to shield a fragile core. I had few close friendships, and often “ghosted” friends and dating partners, convincing myself I was standing on principle rather than grappling with fear.

I wasn't much of an evangelist, truth be told. I didn’t persuade others by word or deed. Looking back, I see that my journey was less about "leading others" and more about surviving my own internal storms.

Every true faith journey begins with crisis. Mine came in the spring of 1980. I’m telling that story in a separate project called Forty-Five Winters—a personal account of trauma, faith, and healing, four and a half decades in the making.

By that summer, at a point of deep fear and vulnerability, God met me. Not through thunder or spectacle, but through His Word—simple, piercing, alive. Scripture found me, carried by the voices of men and women placed in my path. Old writings, sacred texts, and ancient wisdom took root.

And that’s the thread tying today’s readings together:

Start with the Word.

That summer lit a fire in me—not just for common interpretations of Scripture, but for the wide landscape of insight it can offer. I began to see that we all bring a distinct lens to God’s unchanging truth. His Word doesn’t shift, but our view of it does. That realization made me curious. It made me open. It taught me to listen to those the Church often excludes. It broke down barriers. And in breaking, it showed me wonder.

It also brought isolation—but that’s a different story.

The point is this:

Start with the Word.

Then let it shape your world.