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The Whole Matter
Why do we insist on reading the entirety of the bible? Aren’t many of the books outdated? Obsolete? Don’t they pertain to a people and time that no longer exists? The Old Testament was written for a law that doesn’t even apply anymore. And the New Testament trials are long past. The truth is that when we look into the bible, we don’t simply see a religion that only fit the times wherein it was recorded, but rather a series of precepts that can abide through time. There are not archaic values that cannot be exhibited today, but rather examples of ancient constants that define right and wrong today. We must be willing to take the Bible in its entirety, work to understand it, not reject it as much of the world has.
The truth is that most people in the world do know something about the Bible, and even read portions of it. But many have also corrupted the meaning behind it. They assume that bits are outdated, or need to be changed to accommodate our society. But this is precisely counter to what the Bible says about itself.
Revelations 22:18-19 – I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues which are written in this book; 19 and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his part from the tree of life and from the holy city, which are written in this book.
People often times take things they hear out of the bible and take them out of context entirely. And this problem doesn’t only occur within the world alone. We, as members of God’s church must be careful not to commit this act ourselves. Often we look at many passages and say that it was a different time and place; but we cannot write off such passages as obsolete. Everything in the bible has a purpose, and we can always learn something from the smallest interaction between people in the Bible. Just because we can’t see an application at first doesn’t mean that one doesn’t exist.
2 Timothy 3:16 – All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness;
The truth is that we always need to be ready to serve God to the fullest we can. Not only is this what He wants from us, but what He expects, and filling this role takes a lot of work. God gave us his word, not because He had to, but because He loved us. He showed his power in the Old Testament because He loved us. He sent his son because He loved us.
1 John 4: 8 – 10 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.
All of God’s works are all love. Regardless of what man has done to push God away, God will not move on his stance of love. This whole time we think we have distanced God from ourselves, but we haven’t. Instead we just distance ourselves from God. We can’t push God away, but rather we have pushed against him. God does not move, and all we can do is push ourselves from his glory and presence. We must take care to think before we act, and make sure that what we do is fully in accordance with God’s will, or we are pushing against him. And it doesn’t work out when an insect pushes against a bus.
Andrew Hellinger
