Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Just. being. honest.

Just. being. honest. There are so many things in the Bible I don't understand. Truth is, I probably never will this side of Heaven. Try as I might, it's hard to sort through much of what is written. Some of it seems so confusing, but I am sure it's just my inabilty to understand, my own shortcomings.

Just when I think I have something figured out, a curve comes my way. What seemed black & white suddenly becomes gray, & I have to question my own thinking. I try to take things in the Bible in context. I try to look at the Bible as a whole. I try to understand the stories & apply them to my life.

I try to see who the passage was written for or why it was written. What issues were being addressed? Were the words written to last through eternity or were specific problems of the time period the reason for the divine words breathed by God? How am I to know? How can I, a mere reader of the word, discern what the Bible is saying to me?

How is it that people who read the same words can have different interpretations? Why does one person discern one thing while another discerns something else? How is it that the Holy Spirit directs one person one way & the other person another way? People come to odds over these differences. People stop going to church because of these disagreements. People hurt because others see things from different points of view.

Sometimes it doesn't matter. As with most things in life, we can agree to disagree. Other times, it matters. It divides. It hurts. Sometimes we cannot overlook our different interpretations. I think the best we can do is realize that we are called to love one another. The Bible says we will be known by our love. Clearly love is the best testimony we have.


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