THE BIBLE X

"The Christian's Bible is a drug store. Its contents remain the same, but the medical practice changes." - Mark Twain

A theological student whom later I knew as a senior friend had committed himself to starting his ministry in the north of England when he received a very attractive invitation to join a teaching institution in South Wales instead. He did not feel able to withdraw from his commitments, but one day he read in Isaiah 43:6 (Authorized Version), "I will say to the north, Give up", and concluded that this was God telling him that he would be providentially released from his promise and so set free to accept the second invitation. No such thing happened, however, so he went north after all wondering what had gone wrong. Then he reread Isaiah 43:6 and noticed that it continued, "...and to the south, Do not withhold." At this point it dawned on him that he had been finding meaning in the text that was never really there. Instead, the concerns which he brought to his reading of the text had governed his interpretation of it.

At the height of her fame, Marla Maples spoke of her religious roots. She believed in the Bible, she told interviewers, then added the disclaimer, "but you can't always take [it]
literally and be happy."

God's Word doesn't change, but it's application can vary every time. As Maples noted: it's a guarantee, as sure as the sun rising from the east, and setting in the West that the instructions in God's Word will not make us happy EVERY TIME, in the present. The awesomeness of understanding it, is that in the end, it ALWAYS makes us have the last laugh, EVERY TIME.

Let us pray: Father, give me direct interpretations of the Bible, in Jesus name.


WISDOM NUGGET: John 16:13
"...the Spirit of truth...will guide you into all truth..." - NIV