By David ReayThursday 11 Nov 2021LifeWords DevotionalsDevotionsReading Time: 2 minutes
But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. (NIV)
Many years ago, some Christians had so called “promise boxes”. They consisted of small paper scrolls, each one having a bible text printed on it. The idea being to pick a scroll and claim the promise on it.
Sounds fine, and many found such an aid helpful. But it also created a danger. The Bible is not an assortment of precious texts. It is a narrative, a story. Those texts, taken out of context, could be misleading.
The Bible certainly has its origins in God and is not a merely human production. But it was written by fallible humans in a certain culture and in a certain language. And so we face the challenging task of interpreting and applying it to our own very different situation.
And note that the Bible was not written so as to provide exhaustive information on every field of human endeavour. It was written to show us the way of salvation and how to live as “saved” people. We can trust it to do that, but it is not a textbook on all things. It is part history, part poetry, part strange visionary language. It is both disturbingly clear and frustratingly obscure.
We are not to impose our own wishes or expectations on Scripture. God has decided why it is written as it is. Not a religious encyclopaedia or a lucky dip. It is his way of telling us what is wrong, how it can be put right, and how to live right as a result.
Blessings,
David
Support Your Hope 103.2
Make today your day to unite in hope
There is hope for a better day tomorrow, for a better future for your family, your friends, your neighbourhood. Hope for a world in which love overcomes fear – and people are not divided but instead unite.
