The Last Word

           Lots of people need to have The Last Word. Is it a matter of winning (& not losing) the argument or conversation at hand? I believe those who always need to have T. L. W. or dominate the conversation can’t have harmony & peace in their lives. Their inter-personal communication skills are out of balance, and their fallen human nature is shooting themselves in the foot. (See note 182) Common sense says if we want peace & order in a family, social group, workplace, military, etc., the conversation should be two sided, and someone deserving should have the last word. In the family it would be the father or mother. Other places maybe the teacher, boss, minister/priest, police, judge, (landlord?), etc., etc.

       When I joined the Army in 1970, I did not understand this last word principle. In basic training it was a drill sergeant that helped me to get it. After all I had joined & not been drafted – it didn’t seem right that a patriot like myself should have to answer to a rude & obnoxious character like him. Well, he made my life so miserable & medically PAINFUL, I thought I’d fail basic, and have to start it over again. It forced me to pray in desperation for flat foot healing which God did by divine healing while I was marching on a long, forced march. (See note 33 “My Miracles”.) My problem with that drill sergeant had a very interesting & memorable resolution, and as a bonus I learned something about “the Last Word”- when to go for it, and when not to . . . 

         Now going to a higher level with The Last Word, does it apply to God? Does He have the right to have The Last Word? I think if God is alive & the Bible is valid this last word concept is VERY penetrating, especially on that higher level.  

  •  Is it an accident that a primary name of Christ is “The Word”? John 1:1
  •  Is it an accident that Jesus in Luke21:33 said, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.”
  •  Is it an accident that the resurrected Jesus in Matthew 28:18 said, “all authority in heaven and on earth has       been given to me”?
  •  Is it an accident that the end of the Book says, “He is clad in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is   called is The Word of God?” Revelation 19:13
  •  Is it an accident that the resurrected Jesus Christ finally says, “I am the Alpha & the Omega, the beginning &   the END . . .?” Revelation 22:13


        So, it appears that the Bible & Christ himself is saying to the individual & the whole world, “I am & will have The Last Word.” To extend this concept, is the individual acting as God when he or she must always have the last word?? Oliver W. Holmes suggested this when he said, “The great act of faith is when a man decides that he is not God.” (O.W. Holmes, Supreme Court Justice 1907.) Those who accept Christ are honoring Him as The Last Word & are in a much better position to let others have T.L.W. when appropriate. Choose Jesus, and His value system. God’s ways grease the gears of life much better. Revelation 3:20 “Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if any one hears my voice and opens the door, I will come into him and eat with him, and he with me.”

                                                                                                                                                          * * Fred J. Stone * *

                                                                                                                                                                                     203  

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