Kindle-ing Logos

I want to put in a word, this morning, for the word. For The Word. Logos.

The ancient Greeks used "logos" for speech, order, reason and discourse. Aristotle put several key ideas together and used logos to cover the general discipline of reasoned conversation and intelligent dialogue. The Christian writer John finessed the concept to that of God speaking all things into being, and went on to describe Jesus as the physical embodiment or "incarnation" of logos - Christ The Living Word.

The Word, LOGOS, for Jesus followers in the 21st Century, and for me in particular, means "the animating truth" - it means the fact of God speaking life into all of Creation.

• In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

Jesus is light. The Word brings light and life. And, while God is certainly not limited to the kind of truth which can be comprehended via spoken or written language, so much of the truth that penetrates all the way into my soul tends to come at me via text.

So this is one reason why I'm so excited about my new toy! Rebekah and Andrew (along with help from Naomi and Craig, long-distance) took me out to dinner last night and presented me with a "Kindle" book-reader.

They had preloaded it, thoughtfully, with a couple of my titles. And I must admit it still gives me a tingle of excitement to see my work available in any new format.

Then, in the mail, I received my copies of the Guideposts annual Christmas book "The Heart of Christmas". I have a couple of stories in the 2010 edition.

And so today I'm recommending that we soak ourselves in Logos. I'm suggesting some extra time spent in communion with truth via the written word. Get into some Bible! Swim in the life-charged wonder of "it is written."

... I want to put in a word, this morning, for the word. For The Word. Logos.

- DEREK