How would you describe your inner-monologue while you read the Bible before you were a believer? Now?
Perhaps you are/were a skeptic. Reading with a critical eye, playing the “doubting game,” trying to remain objective and impersonal, and play the devil’s advocate with what you read. On the other hand you may read with a receptive eye, empathetically playing the “believing game.” Your aim is not to test the validity of what you read, but to understand it.[1] You might even have these two modes of relating to Scripture text happening at the same time!
It is easy to want to play favorites and say that the "believers" have it made. Their faith in what they read is the way to go. It certainly is a gift to trust what you read, realize there will be some things you can’t understand, and trust the Holy Spirit to reveal what the Lord would have you learn from the text. However, what is wonderful about the doubting game and the Lord is that you may just be won over! C.S. Lewis, Josh McDowell and Philip Yancey are just two names that come to mind of famous Christians who started off as skeptics and retain(ed) a healthy level of questioning that helps(ed) them engage audiences in ways that “true believers” could never relate to.
“So, just how does a man who’s been through all Yancey has, draw close to the God he once feared? He spends about an hour each morning reading spiritually nourishing books, meditating, and praying. This morning time, he says, helps him “align” himself with God for the day. “I tend to go back to the Bible as a model, because I don’t know a more honest book,” Yancey explains. “I can’t think of any argument against God that isn’t already included in the Bible.[2]”
So don’t give up if you find yourself questioning what you read. Press on, ask the Holy Spirit to open your eyes. You have a unique perspective and God can use your way of thinking and questioning to His glory. And don't worry -- God can handle your questions! I say this respectfully, His Word states: "For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart" (Hebrews 4:12). This is no ordinary theory, text, narrative, world-view...this is the Lord of the Universe's prescribed reading and it is alive and active!
And for the receptive readers: press on in your careful reading, seek His face, encourage others from His Word as you have been encouraged. God’s gift of faith is inspirational in you.
No comments:
Post a Comment