What I Did Not Know

I touched last year about how my cover to cover journey through the Bible was one of the most amazing experiences of my life. In that post I said I'd be touching on a few points in later posts and this is one of them. This post is about how I discovered my years of Sunday school had failed me, no fault of the teachers or anyone truly.

The Bible is not a book about stories that portray life as a bed of roses, it's closer to an intense relay race obstacle course. I also want to emphasize that they are not fictional stories but truth.

Many Christians like to portray themselves to the world as though they know everything about the Bible. I want to be clear, here and now, I am under not delusion that I know or even understand everything that the Bible has to offer to me and I never will because that is some of the amazing mystery of God. That being said Christians that grow up in the church know the classic narratives like creation, Noah, Jonah, Jesus just to name the basic few. What Sunday school often fails to teach is the details, the context and the applicability. Really it does just portray the Bible as stories. There is so much more.

For starters, why did no one mention that the Bible isn't organized chronologically to me when I was a kid. That would have changed it for me, while also providing the perspective that although for example Esther is found early in the old testament, it really would fit right near the end of the old testament when placed in context with the entire metanarrative. This is just one of many examples of books or sections placed out of order.

The next thing is the magnitude of explicit content in the Bible that should have been used as examples when I was a young teen to talk about challenging subjects like sex, marriage, rape, etc. I could have felt more prepared, educated and as thought my faith was applicable to my daily life with messages like that.

There is a lot to this subject of what basic sermons and traditional Christianity teaches but the point being made is that as Christians we need to dig deeper. In a world where faith is constantly attacked, it's is the foundation built from the Bible that serves as the strongest weapon. But tread carefully too, this does not mean to use the Bible to demean, demoralize or discourage someone by using it in a smug way if you are at an upper hand on the subject. Also recall where God's heart is through it all, especially in times such as covid when so many are using faith and the Bible to justify actions that endanger others . We are to serve as an example and setting the example that our faith makes us above the rules sends the wrong message and CANNOT be justified by the word of God.

I'm sure I'll revisit this topic again but for the time being I would encourage you to take a deeper look. Consider areas of the Bible you may not like or find interesting. For myself that is Paul's letters. With those sections, dig down, look at God's character revealed in those scriptures. Come to the Bible with an open hand and an open heart. Allow yourself to see the great and amazing Lord we serve. Build your foundation on rock and you'll be able to withstand every storm with Him.