Reflections on The Word

I'd call this year- "The year of the Bible." (Divinci Code, Political/Religious Death-matches, the SBC aurguing over tongues and "gospel of judas", lady preachers, etc...)

In this year more than any other, we've seen God's word questioned, defiled, glorified, and deified.

It's all caused me to really think through what the Word of God means to me. God's word is peace to me but God's word also disturbs the peace in my life. That's right, it disturbs the peace. It causes me to see the storms. It's constantly stirring me as batter in bowl- It thickens me.

It tells the whole story.  There are lots of things that I would have sensored out, but God chose to tell the truth.  To record anger so great that it wishes for the death of infants. It shows heroes with flaws. You won't find a Clark Kent type in this book other than Christ- who was the Word. Men and women fail and then succeed. Or they succeed and then fail. It's always a combonation of both with the exception of Enoch and he got a hall pass before the bell rang.

Christians I'm around today are on a quest of defending the Word of God against heretics. Nothing new to the church. But as Spurgeon once said, "The Word of God is like a lion. You don't have to defend it, you just have to let it out of the cage." (How I wished I would have thought of that metaphore! Please forgive the writer envy, Sweet Jesus.) 

Theologians wield the Word of God as a theological litmus test to keep out people they don't like. We find our favorite parts, parts that fit our general world view and we make people sign off on it. Others chose to make the Bible a graven image, worshiping it more than God himself. Putting God the 20lb version on the communion table- never read but ain't it big.

As I read the Acts of the Apostles- the major formula of the Holy Spirit is this: The Holy Spirit don't have any formulas. Meanwhile the Acts of the American Church is that we are glitzed out, overfed and underachieving. We are focused on the power of the company (church inc.) rather than the Company of His Power.

To tell you the truth the thing i love about God's word is this: It's a director's cut of the Good News. No deleted scenes. No formulaic ending, no apologies and no edits. It's the light unto my path. It's a scary book when you get right down to it because it calls for radical love- it propels us to snatch people out of the leper colony and the Bethesda's pool of self help and holistic healing. It leaves the servant work to me. It warns me to avoid debt and riches- both have the potential to damn me. And it dares me to believe in something from nothing, life from death, and beginning from ending.

The Bible is Anti-Religion. It doesn't show God as a tip toe through the tulips creator. He's a roaring Lion and He dares you to battle- note that His battle is always His. He is not looking for our help. He is inviting us to adventure- so great and unpredictable that even as we gasp our final breath, we look forward to the next page-turning chapter of the swashbuckling thriller. It is not stayed, it is not a book of administration and order. And again i say--It's against religion. (And most will never get their brain around that truth. I pray I will.) The Bible is about dead men walking. It's about surrendering- holding our hands to Heaven and watching our God, like an angry parent witnessing a bully torment his little girl- knock the snot out him and dare him to pull that stunt again. (Therefore one must examine himself to be sure he is not a bully. (This is a note to self.)  * and one personal observation- we find many bullies in the church these days.)

Some Christians use the Bible as lawyers use precedent the argue their case citing certain past cases in God's Word as their loophole and syllogism. Usually their case has more to do with their personal power than it has to do with the Great Commission or the Greatest Commandment. Some of these people would rather see a neighborhood go to hell than have the wrong type of person (sex, race, political faction) preach in the neighborhood. And because of this they become the practicing liberals in the Body. 

I must spend more time reading the Word of God than the time I spend listening to people talk about the Word of God. I must spend more time letting the Word teach me through the Holy Spirit. It's trusting God's promise that the Word will accomplish what it set out to do. And yes, indeed, certainly, and verily I must DO the word of God everyday.

I look forward to spending more time in God's Word- when I do, it's never wasted time.

Comments

[john]

amen
amen
a m e n
Amen
AMEN
wooohooo amen

you might make a darn good preacher boy yet