On our trip home from Germany, we went through airport security in Berlin. I walked through the scanner without an issue, but then I watched as my carry-on bag was automatically pushed aside for an inspection. I walked around to that area and the inspector asked for permission to open the bag. I granted it, at which point he informed me that he had to swab “my papers” for explosives. I agreed, not sure what exactly he meant.

When I saw what he pulled out of my bag, a big smile appeared on my face. Cheryl had put her Bible in my bag, and that was what the inspector was swabbing for explosives. I had to resist the urge to say, “Yeah, there is dynamite in there!”, knowing that they would not have appreciated that remark. But it is true.

Romans 1:16 I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.

The Greek word translated as “power” here is δύναμις  – “dunamis” – from which we get our word dynamite.

This reminder of the power of God’s Word was appropriate for this trip. We were reminded how God used Martin Luther to put Scripture in the language of the people, which in his case was German. This would allow his people to read the Bible for themselves, to let God speak to them directly through His Word. For centuries, only the educated, those who spoke Latin, could read the Bible. After his translation work, this was no longer the case.

As a side note, Luther was not the first to do this. There were translations in Spain, England and France before Luther translated the Bible into German. But the Roman Church did not approve of this practice, and for the most part condemned the translators as heretics and burned their translations. However, God chose to use Luther as His instrument, and provided protection for him, so that not only did he survive, but so did his translation. And because Guttenberg had already invented the printing press with movable type, his translation was able to spread rapidly. People had the “dynamite” of God’s Word available in their homes.

Don’t ignore the powder keg you have in your possession. It tells you of God’s love, the forgiveness Jesus earned for you through His life and death, and the victory over death He accomplished for everyone. That is the power of God for the salvation for everyone who believes.