day no 17,432: cut to the quick

"Wit is a fighting thing and a working thing. A man may enjoy humor all by himself; he may see a joke when no one else sees it; he may see the point and avoid it. But wit is a sword; it is meant to make people feel the point as well as see it." — G.K. Chesterton

It is one thing to know how to make someone see and understand the point of something and quite another to make them feel the point of it.

Acts 5:29-35

Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, "We ought to obey God rather than men. The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew and hanged on a tree. Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.  And we are his witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey him." When they heard that, they were cut to the heart, and took counsel to slay them.

You can speak in a pointed way, but you cannot poke someone's soul. The Word of God can cut to the division of joint and marrow, soul and spirit, however.

Hebrews 4:12

For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

It is the grace of God that gives us the ability to see the point and it is the grace of God that gives us the ability to feel its poke in our souls.

"All good things come to a point, swords for instance" — G.K. Chesterton

All good and perfect gifts come down to us from above, including the words that cut us to the quick. Thank God for His surgical precision in doing reconstructive heart surgery on us after having already performed a heart transplant on us.