Barbara Brown Taylor talks about one of her students at Piedmont who has the word “and” tattooed on her back. “And what,” she asks her student? In the conversation, she learns that there are authors now writing living novel projects. That is, there are people walking in the world who literally bear one word on their body from a particular story.

I have a friend who was so moved by the concept of God’s word being alive and active (Hebrews 4) that he wanted to become, in his own life, a living word.

I like to think my friend is allowing God to write a better story in his life. We would all do well to bear one word into the world. A word of hope or promise or resurrection . . . a word that brings life.