A Razor Blade

For the word of God is living and powerful,
and sharper than any two-edged sword,
piercing even to the division of soul and spirit,
and of joints and marrow,
and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
—Hebrews 4:12

The Bible is not our proof text!

It does not exist to help us win arguments.

It is infinitely more than that.

When we use it that way, we cheapen it. We reduce it from being the very Word of God — the Word of life itself — to being little more than snippets we use to make ourselves feel better.

Because we are human, we approach the Scriptures with already formed opinions; with conclusions already established; with our question's answers already settled. As we read, we come across passages that support our worldview and we mark them — even memorize them. Then we quote — or at least refer to them whenever a conversation wanders toward that subject. And we pat ourselves on the back for "winning" another point in the debate.

We assume that our wisdom is sufficient to tell us whatever we need to learn from our reading or study time. We subconsciously put ourselves on God's throne as the final arbiter of the truth in the Scriptures. If it supports our beliefs, we hold on to it. If it causes us to question our beliefs, we assume that we misunderstood the context, or that "times were different back then."

We tend to view our Bible as a painting that utilizes stark blacks and whites. One direction. One meaning. One truth.

But if the twenty-two months I spent saturated in God's Word taught me anything, it's that the Word of God is alive. Fourteen times through the Bible revealed far more questions than answers. And the picture it paints is certainly not black and white. There are nuances, layers of meaning, and complex pictures through out God's story.

We should approach our time in the scriptures with our fingertips planted firmly in our scalps. Rather than saying, "Ah-ha!," we should be scratching our heads asking, "How can that be?" And if we repeatedly take that question to our Father, in time, a new peace will settle within us. We may not be able to articulate it, but we will be changed.

At every turn, there are surprises — if we'll slow down long enough to see them.

We must allow the Words of the Bible to be a [divider] of soul and spirit, and joints and marrow, and to [discern] the thoughts and intents of [our] heart.

In order to do this, we must allow God's Word to shape our worldview rather than support it. We must discern the questions it requires of us and prayerfully consider the answers. We must test every conclusion by holding it next to everything else God has revealed.

I don't profess to know anything. But the result of my time in the Bible has shown me that an awful lot of what I used to know just isn't so.

So let's exercise more care in how we approach and handle God's Word.