As I have spent more and more time with scripture, I have had a thought that I'm not sure what to do with. I really don't think it's one of those earth shattering, faith changing revelations...I just think its something we don't often talk about. It seems to me that as massively complex as scripture is we as Christians seem to think that the whole thing always fits the bill in every situation. My thought? I think that much of what we read as believers really only makes sense to us (sometimes).
What got me thinking of this is our church's electronic sign. We have been posting people's favorite scripture on it I guess in an attempt to bring words of comfort, establish an easy way for scripture to be a part of everyone's day to day, highlight members of the congregation (a combination of all of the above...not really sure, it was Pastor John's idea). I see the benefit of it. Not a bad use of a church sign in addition to all the "normal" stuff it could be used for. What really got me thinking was the favorite verse posted from Romans 8:28 "We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose" Not a bad verse. I find some comfort and joy in it. But then again I love God. What about someone who isn't a believer? How would that sound?
If you were going to try and tell somebody about Christianity, try to show them a bit of scripture were would you start? In the Gospel of John which contains thoughts like " Those who believe in him are not condemned; but those who do not believe are condemned already, because they have not believed in the name of the only Son of God"? In one of the letters of Paul? I would hope not Revelation or Leviticus...there is a lot in those books that I don't even understand and I grew up in the faith.
My point is: use caution and common sense when using scripture. Is it a beautiful message? Yes. One of the greatest stories ever told? Absolutely. Can people misunderstand it when its just thrown around, or taken out of context, or not explained? You betcha. Happens to me all the time. Don't misunderstand me...I'm not saying don't share it. We need to share it, but in a way that it won't lose or degrade the beautiful and powerful message.
Jonathan Edward Nathaniel Tidmore Ormadox James Lys, you are a wise man. Thank you for sharing your thoughts with me and the rest of the world.
ReplyDeleteDearest Jon, I did not know you had so many middle names....haha. Also, you have a very good point. I've often wondered the same thing. This is where I find church work difficult at times is because I get caught up in the "church" world and seem to miss what the "real" world is saying. If we are tied to our own comfort zones and comfortable verses, we lose sight of how to share the great message(s) in them to others.
ReplyDeleteIn the class I took this last short term on evangelism, we looked at what people call the "Good News," and how most of the time it's really bad news. We are so caught up in our understanding of Scripture, we don't realize that going up to people and saying "Hi my name is Wes and you're going to hell" is not actually a way to sway people to your way of thinking.
ReplyDeleteIt's like what our good friend and countryman Rob Bell says in Love Wins. 90% of what Jesus said was for people already in the "in" crowd. They knew the language; they understood what was at cost. We tend to use that language when we speak to those in the "out" crowd. There's something wrong with that...
I second what elizabeth and wes said. it's one thing to not be consumed and spiritually directed by the world, but we have to have a connection with the world because that is where our ministry is.
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