One of the things that strikes me, especially as we're going through Genesis is that lots of people are faced with all kinds of questions in what they read. Now, you'll probably know that I'm all for asking questions, and not just taking things at face value. But sometimes it seems to me that the questions can also become distractions, red herrings. Things that will actually create distance between God's Word and us, so that we can't hear what it says to us. So, how do we handle this? This is by no means the final word on this - any suggestions you've got, please leave as a comment - but here are a few guidelines that might help with this:
- What is the main point of these verses I've read? Do I need to know the answer to this question before I can take that on board?
- Does the question relate to some aspect of what we can believe about God, or how we live the Christian life - or is it a question of detail, of history?
- Am I trying to read this as if it were a modern day newspaper rather than an ancient, human document - that in ways we'll never fully grasp is also the always relevant word of God?
- How can I get nearer to an answer...who can I ask, what resources can I access? Surely it's better to do a little research rather than remain stuck on something. In particular, try & find out how Christians through the ages have answered the question. Let's face it after 2000 years it's unlikely that we'll be the first ones to ask something.
- Above all, and I know this might sound simplistic, but why not talk it over with the Lord. If you get stuck on something it could even be that you're meant to take a bit more time over it, thinking and praying because God wants to speak to you through it.
I guess to sum it up - where possible, let your questions be springboards to relationship with God, rather than barriers. Of course, that's not always easy; but that's why we're encouraging small groups to discuss these readings together. Any thoughts?
As I read the Word of God and start to ask questions on what it truly means i find myself getting to know Gods attributes more and find this helps me take away any preconceived ideas i may have had in the past of how God operates, it gives me a deeper relationship with Him and makes me feel like I'm not just communicating with some figment of my imagination or some big judgemental being sat somewhere on a throne,It makes it all real.I believe the world throws us so many images of God that are untrue that can some times cloud a Christians mind with lies and until we get to know God ourselves through His Word we can never truly have a deep and meaningful relationship with him and after all this is why He created us. I guess what i'm trying to say is that as we read more of the Word there MAY be things that we don't understand but could get to understand , but if we DON'T read the Word there DEFINITELY will be things we don't understand but think we do understand . UNDERSTAND ? GOD BLESS
ReplyDeleteThanks Roger - I think you're spot on, if we're not spending time in God's Word then we're probably asking the wrong questions in the first place...take care
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