How much of what we believe is driven by bad theology? Do we believe it because it has been taught by the church since our father’s time? Or do we believe it because we read the Bible with a misunderstanding of what the words mean? Our minds are molded by the scientific revolution and modernity. In one sense we really are totally different from the original audience of the scriptures. We read the Bible through a translation that is most likely the translation of a translation and have no knowledge of Greek or Hebrew. And yet we hold on to words like “holy”, “inerrant”, and “infallible” because faith will fill in the holes of our understanding. I would contend that it is not faith that is filling in the understanding gap, but rather the shear strength of the message. The message of Christ is so strong it is able to accommodate even the simplest understanding of the scripture. Although, we should be much more than this. Hebrews 5:12 states, “For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid food.” A man of Christ is expected to grow in his understanding and knowledge of the scripture, not to rely on the crutch of faith as an excuse for ignorance.
An often-cited verse about confusion in the world and misunderstanding is Isaiah 55:8 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways — Oracle of the Lord” What is missed is the following verses which address the words of the Lord. “So shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth; It shall not return to me empty, but shall do what pleases me, achieving the end for which I sent it.” Nestled between these verses is the image of rain watering the earth making it fertile and fruitful. We are to take the word, teaching it diligently to our children and binding it as reminders on our foreheads and hands. (Deut. 6:7–8). But how can we do this if we briefly read Isaiah 55:8 and shrug our shoulders saying “God know’s best” and leave it at that. We are commanded to do more and dig into the word for the sake of our family, the church, and our neighbors.
So that is what we are going to do. We are going to ask the hard questions and not be fearful of where the Bible will take us. We will drill into the full body of Christ like the slow drip of a maple tree tap. I am not literate in Hebrew or Greek and I have no formal study in the Scripture. I am like you. We declare that Christ is the Son of God and somehow is God at the same time. We believe that the Bible is the truth and therefore will use it as our source. But the we all speak English and therefore are at a disadvantage and will be reliant on other members of the Church to fill in gaps of knowledge. This is not a movement, nor is it anything new. It is doing what mankind has always done ever since the Garden of Eden, but this time we will not seek to obtain the knowledge on our own. We are not philosophers, nor scientist, we are Christians and the truth in the Bible will lead us to a clearer understanding of the word and of the world.
So this is where we will begin.
Dad Devotional 