For The Bible Tells Me So

We had some Christian friends over for coffee the other day. They go to a very different church than we do and our conversation eventually drifted into the area of doctrine. How do we know whose interpretations of Scripture are correct? Of course, all four of us have our ideas about this, influenced by our denominational perspectives and our personal preferences (though we may not always like to admit to this last one). I think we had a good and lively interchange of thoughts and ideas.

We didn’t agree about everything, of course. I doubt one could find even two Christians who see their faith in exactly the same way. Over the centuries, the Church has discussed, parsed, translated and re-translated the Bible. There are certain bedrock doctrines that cross all denominational borders and about which almost everyone agrees. And then there are scads more that we have not resolved conclusively and about which we argue at times, with varying levels of intensity.

The book of Revelation has inspired many different interpretations and Paul’s epistle writings concerning sexual morality and the roles of women in the church have spawned some rather intense disagreements as well. Quite often lately, I’ve trolled the Internet to find pundits who can shed light on these types of passages for me. I tend to veer away from extreme conservative or liberal theologians and have discovered a few whose writings are simple enough to understand, yet seem reasonable and balanced. 

And yet, I feel a bit uneasy. Part of me knows this is not the right way to look at Scripture interpretation. By its own definition, the Word of God is not a dry, theological explanation of God and how he goes about things. It’s living and active in some mysterious way that has the power to impact peoples’ lives. The writer to the Hebrews (4:12) describes it as “alive and powerful” and says that it “exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.”

Most of the New Testament writers speak about the Word of God as if it’s organic. I get goose bumps when I hear the opening to the book of John read at Christmas services.  “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”  I figure that, since Jesus Christ is the Word, then he must be talking to us when we read Scripture.

In fact, that recent conversation with our friends helped me to see this in a new light. My husband has a dry, European sense of humour and will occasionally make remarks that are a bit baffling to the uninitiated. Is he serious…ironic…making a joke…? Since I’ve known him for many years, I usually understand what he’s getting at, but those who aren’t well acquainted with him need some clarification. 

Such was the case with our relatively new friends. My husband made a bit of an obscure joke and I launched into one of my “smoothing the way” explanations. Then it hit me: I was acting as my husband’s interpreter. Why did I feel the need to do this? So our friends would not be confused and uncomfortable. I wanted them to know and appreciate my husband just as I do. 

This got me thinking about Bible interpretation and I realized that a similar dynamic applies there. Most of us want other people to understand God’s Word in the same way as we do. It’s very unsettling to find out that others who follow Christ disagree with us about important issues. How do we resolve this dilemma? Of course, we need language translators, Bible historians and theologians to help us to understand “what is written” but they have certain limits. Their outlooks differ on some of the issues, so we have to pick and choose according to our own preferences or what our denominations teach.

It’s been dawning on me that, no matter how brilliant or balanced Scripture teachers may seem to be, they simply cannot connect us with the heart of the Author. They can’t tell us what God is saying to you and to me personally, in this place and at this time. For that, we need to go to directly to Jesus. As we read, mark and inwardly digest not just the words on a page, but the Living Word, something happens. We connect with God, mind to mind and Spirit to spirit. Our hearts soften and healing waters seep in, bringing life deep down, to places the intellect cannot reach. The words “thou shalt” and “thou shalt not”, so dry and demanding, give way to “Christ in us, the hope of glory”. 

Yes, I think the key is “Christ in us”. The idea that Jesus, King of all creation, chooses to dwell in his people may sound a bit highfalutin, but I’m beginning to understand that there is nothing simpler. Jesus came to seek and save the lost – those who are disconnected from God. When we accept that we need this from him and recognize that he is “the Messiah, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:16), then that’s it. We become new people. Not only that, God makes us part of his family, a clan that spans every nation of the world, cuts through all cultural divides and stretches back and forward through time. Our intellects can’t really grasp how this works, so we just have to grab onto it by faith. 

This is what I learned while sipping coffee and comparing doctrine with our new friends. Though we didn’t and probably never will think exactly the same about everything, the spiritual cord that connects us in Christ runs deeper than interpretations of Scripture verses. When we relax and trust that Jesus is with us, we see him. When we ask him to enlighten us because our puny minds can’t understand everything there is to know about God, we hear him. And when we allow ourselves to acknowledge Christ in other members of his family, there he is, in our midst. What could be better than that?

Before you speak, it is necessary for you to listen, for God speaks in the silence of the heart. ~ Mother Theresa

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Photo credits: Coffee cups - Waking Photo Life; Stones - Ronel_Reyes; Bible - Jangkwee; Flower - Bruno Ciampi

The Gal In The Mirror

When we were children, my brother and I argued a lot. These set-tos usually ended up with one of us accusing the other of being a liar, cry baby or worse. The inevitable rejoinder was something along the lines of, “Look in the mirror, why don’t you?” For some reason, the mirror remark always hurt worse than the name-calling. 

Almost half a century later, I am doing much the same thing, albeit in the private confines of my head. I glare at the driver who just cut me off and mutter, “Selfish so-and so!” When a movie character sulks and indulges in a pity party, I think, “Grow up!” 

Lately, the Holy Spirit has been giving me little nudges concerning this attitude…quietly holding a mirror up to my inner eye. Not to shame me or accuse me, but so I can see what is really going on when I launch into attack mode. It comes down to this: I don’t want to see the mess in me, so I deflect my accusations toward others. It’s painful to poke around in my own trash pile. Some things are too icky to expose to the light of day.

I tend to think that it’s going to kill me if I admit to certain flaws in my character. I certainly don’t want God to look too closely at the real me. After all, he might point out that “this and this and this has to go or you are no longer in my good books.” Ouch! Of course, I know that type of thinking is a lie. God isn’t condemning me - he’s saving me. He isn’t trying to whip me into shape, but is transforming me by renewing my mind. He doesn’t want me to feel ashamed and full of despair at my failings.

In fact, according to Apostle Paul, God’s power works best in the midst of my most dreadful weaknesses (2 Cor. 12:9). The character defects that persist, despite my best efforts to get rid of them, eventually drive me to my knees. God’s grace always meets me there and we make a great exchange – I offer him my inability to help myself and then his power starts to work in me to effect change. 

Sounds good, doesn’t it? And yet, even though I know this to be true, the “keeper of the mess”  - frightened and stubborn - can’t live with that kind of grace, so hauls out pitiful excuses and useless rationalizations for maintaining the status quo. It’s not easy to cede control of certain areas of my life, even to our immensely loving and merciful God. Part of me doesn’t trust him, you see.

Lately though, I’ve sensed the Spirit saying, “Let her die, dear one…she’s sucking the life out of you.” I’d like to do that, but how do I go about it? First of all, I need to look at her straight on, with no deflecting and no excuses. Giving in to fear tends to enlarge the mess rather than shrink it.

Obstacles are like wild animals. They are cowards, but they will bluff you if they can. If they see you are afraid of them…they are liable to spring upon you; but if you look them squarely in the eye, they will slink out of sight. ~ Orison Swett Marden

 I don’t need to be afraid because Jesus will be right there with me. The battle is not mine, but God’s (2 Chronicles 20:15) and I can do all things through Christ - including facing my mess head-on. Once the ugliness is exposed, I must then cut ties with it and invite Jesus into that area of my life. After all, light always overcomes darkness. It’s a bit of a mystery how that works, really. You take a little faith leap and then look back later on and see that God has been working quietly in secret places. You have some extra peace or joy or patience. Maybe you’re a tad more comfortable in your own skin.

So, the next time I’m motoring around town, perhaps thinking snarky thoughts about other drivers and then feeling ashamed about it, I hope God intervenes to remind me that, “…anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!” (2 Cor. 5:17)

Be willing to surrender  what you are for  what you could become  (Reinhold Niebuhr)  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

What about you? Has God been helping you to trust him in some area of your life?  Please share in the comments section (which is located below in very, very small font).


Photo credits: Drawing of woman - Bas Vanuyen;  Butterfly - chronowizard

Duking It Out In The Church

Many things – such as loving, going to sleep,

or behaving unaffectedly – are done worst

when we try hardest to do them.

~ C.S. Lewis

Chris: That behaviour is a sin – the Bible says so here and here…

Lee: No, no – you are interpreting those verses from a narrow perspective. Scripture writers wrote within the contexts of their cultures, but we have new information and interpretive techniques now and should update our theology accordingly.

Chris: A sin is a sin, no matter the cultural context.

Lee: Sigh! Jesus said that the Law was all about love – for God and our neighbour. We must have compassion for our neighbour – walk a mile in her shoes before we stand in judgement over her.

Chris: Yes, I agree about that. I’m just not so sure that we understand God’s love as much as we like to pretend. In fact, I think we try to make God adapt to our standards rather than vice versa. We decide, according to our own lights, that some of his judgements and actions seem unloving, so we try to interpret them right out of the Bible and onto the scrap heap.

Lee: And maybe we like to focus on the sins of others so we don’t have to acknowledge our own. We should be asking ourselves if we are walking justly and loving mercy rather than lambasting fellow Christians for their perceived moral lapses. 

And so on and so on, ad infinitum…

Christians have argued and split into factions since the dawn of the Church. Even the first apostles had to agree to disagree on certain issues and nothing has changed since. The matters of contention vary, depending on the times and cultures and I think that the imaginary exchange above reflects some of the issues under debate today. 

It is understandable that Christ’s followers would want their faith to rest on solid doctrine and right practice. After all, the Apostle Paul did warn Timothy that  “…the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.”  (2 Timothy 4:3) 

Does that mean the Church should close all its theological doors and stop trying to come to terms with challenges to its teachings? Fresh movements of the Spirit tend to start with a rush of enthusiasm for God, a new understanding of his ways.  We were blind, but now we see!  Our instinct is to try and preserve this with doctrines and practices, but the more we try to control it, the more quickly that first love, that life force, slips from our grasp. Eventually, we’re left with a pretty, but somewhat empty shell.

But then, how many layers of doctrine may we safely peel away and discard in our quest to discover the Love at the heart of it all? How do we discern the difference between sound doctrine – those things that define our faith - and inessentials that we may cast off with no ill effect? Sometimes I despair of the whole tug-of-war, as we yank Scripture verses back and forth, hoping to tie them to our own points of view. I find myself wishing that God would make it clear once and for all what he thinks about the issues in question.

It is apparent, looking back on centuries of divisions and even violence, that the Church has never been able to say, “Finally – we all agree and are at peace with one another.”  It is especially difficult to discern truth and falsehood these days because Christianity seems to be many things to many people. The internet vibrates with competing views on "how to be a good disciple". Should we be modern day John the Baptist types, calling a sinful world to repentance or should we soften our harsh edges and warmly welcome one and all into our church sanctuaries, “just as you are”?  Or can we do both and if so, how would that look? 

Whether we wish to protect the tenets of our faith or to change them, I am discovering that barricading ourselves behind doctrinal certainties or, alternatively, pushing through with trendy new theologies serves more to hide Christ than to reveal him in our midst.

I say that because Jesus made it clear that people would be able to recognize disciples of Jesus by how they love one another. Not by who has the best doctrine. Not by who best serves the community. Not even by who displays the best morals, the best success in life or best promotes peace and justice in the world. Jesus said that our love for one another would prove to the world that we are his disciples. Loving one another well is harder than any of the good things I just listed. Two thousand years of infighting has made this quite clear. 

I was struck by something Apostle Paul said to the Corinthians. “…it sounds as if more harm than good is done when you meet together. First, I hear there are divisions among you when you meet as a church…But of course, there must be divisions among you so that you who have God’s approval will be recognized!” (I Cor. 11:17-18)

Bible commentators vary in their understanding of these verses, but all agree that Paul was talking about a certain prideful attitude. In the passage context, he is instructing the church how to live and worship together. The Corinthians should have been imitating Christ, but their “me first” attitude was antithetical to how Jesus lived his life on earth. They were proud of their wealth and position in society, trying to carry that over into congregational life. They argued about whose theology was better.

Above all, they seemed to forget that they were to prefer one another above themselves. Jesus laid down his rights and his lofty position in order to come down among us – to identify with us and to love us. He chose to serve rather than dominate. Paul talks about Communion (or the Lord’s Supper) in order to illustrate what it means to walk in love as Jesus did.

And of course we want to be like Jesus!  We desire more than anything to speak the truth in love with one another and we try to get it right. But we fail. I like the way D. Thomas, a Bible commentator, described our dilemma:

“…assembling together for religious purposes does not necessarily imply unity of soul. It does not follow that because people are brought together in the same church that they are united together in spirit. Two people may sit in the same pew, hear the same discourse, etc., and yet in soul be as remote from one another as the poles.”

And then the clincher: “No real spiritual unity can exist where there is not a supreme affection for Christ, who is the only uniting place of souls.” *

When I read that I feel a tinge of despair because my affection for Christ can hardly be described as “supreme.”  But then a verse from Philippians comes to mind. "For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him."  Oh yeah…mustn’t forget the good news about what Jesus has accomplished for us! We are not able to manufacture authentic Christian unity because that can’t be built from the outside in. Despite our best efforts, we have no idea how to go about it. It’s kind of a mystery, really. But God’s Spirit has access to the building materials and knows exactly where to commence renovations within each individual Christian heart.

Can we trust him enough to allow him access to our inner wreckage? If so, he’ll poke and prod and dismantle and build. Slowly, slowly, we’ll relax and let him love us. Inch by inch, our love for him will blossom and grow, like wildflowers after a drought. Perhaps we’ll notice a new sense of freedom – freedom from the desire to lord it over each other or to protect our spiritual turf from intruders; freedom from the need to judge and find wanting, or to nurture a sense of offense.

Instead, with mental swords beaten into plowshares and emotional fists unclenched, we’re likely to find ourselves speaking the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. (Eph. 4:15)

We come to love not by finding a perfect person, but by learning to see an imperfect person perfectly. ~ Sam Keen

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* D. Thomas, The Biblical Illustrator

Photo credits

Birds in conflict: Vinoth Chandar/Creative Commons

Thumbs up: Sarah Reido/Creative Commons

Geese in formation: Howard Ignatius/Creative Commons