Elemental Season 1 - Day 25

I have a few thoughts on this. Firstly, for those of us who have been in the church for most of our lives and who have also gone to Christian schools for a portion of that time, simply going to Genesis and starting there is going to be difficult. Remember, we have studied scripture repeatedly for what seems like forever. We have been exposed to the greater narrative that scripture offers. The stories of the Old Testament are so ingrained in our minds and hearts that simply re-reading them is not going to be the kind of efficacious pursuit you are hoping for. It sometimes feels like day-old bread, reading the stories without the benefit of commentary, to say we have reread them. 

But I am going to give you a thought if that is okay.

Stop reading scripture. 

You’ve done it enough. It is time for a new approach. It is time for you to  STUDY scripture in ways you have not. The intention, the tools, and the time you are going to put into this study need to be different than it has been before.  

But first, as mentioned earlier, you are going to have to come to grips with what you believe scripture to be in your life. Wisdom, authority, grace, love, intelligence, impact, or even wild and wonderful stories. As you decide what this means, you will have a basis from which to begin your study. Your hermeneutic will flow from your understanding of what scripture is in your life. 

Listen, I want to be clear on something here. The Bible is complicated, and it is complex, and it is simple, and beautiful. It is one of the many paradoxes that we deal with as people of faith. It is particularly humbling to think about the Bible as God's Word. The God of the universe, capable of thundering the eternal message throughout the heavens or painting a clear message of love on the clouds, chose to use a medium as human as the local newspaper to share the message of salvation and grace. And it is just because God chose to use such a common expression of com­munication that the Bible has the potential to meet our very per­sonal needs. It can touch us where we live. God chose to talk to humans through a medium we all use every day and to do so throughout history with confidence that the message of salvation would continue to be clear and transforming to all who read it. 

1. What has the bible meant to you over the years? 
2. How can we trust the veracity of it? 
3. What is your favorite passage, and why?