Our young son has always loved playing with sticks while walking in the woods, and he has bought many a toy sword with his own money. In his sword-wielding moments, we have reminded him of the biblical promise that “the sword of the Spirit . . . is the word of God” (Ephesians 6:17). 

In Bible times, a “two-edged sword” was the ultimate weapon because it could cut in all directions. But the book of Hebrews says that the Word of God is even sharper than a human sword because it can pierce and divide even down to the “thoughts and intents” of the heart (4:12). Wielding this kind of sword is not a passive thing. Sometimes it takes real strength and persistence. The results are both preventative and curative, bringing blessings and healing. Recently, our son, along with my husband and me, has been more proactively than ever wielding the sword of the Spirit.

One morning, as usual, my son and I rode bikes together on his morning commute to school. It was cold and snowy. We had ridden bikes to school together the day before, and we had talked about how to be careful on potentially icy spots and when turning corners. As we were going down the first hill, I called after him to slow down, but he kept picking up speed. Then, I watched in dismay as he did not make the turn at the bottom of the hill but went straight ahead into a parking lot, crashed into a short wall, flipped over the handlebars, and fell about six feet down on the other side of the wall. His brakes had failed.