We've all done it. Mostly when we are trying to assemble furniture from Ikea. We skip reading the directions because... well, they're pictographs with Swedish words that we can't even pronounce. You get half way through assembling your Bjursta or Kvartal and you realize that you put that piece in backward or upside down and in frustration face meets palm. Maybe then you look more carefully at the instructions or look up a how to on Youtube.
I've had a lot of those moments in life. Funny thing though, I DO try to read the instructions first! I know, I'm a rare man. Still, I have gotten pretty far along in some projects and assignments when I suddenly realize that I have to start over.
To be perfectly honest, even in my sermon prep I find myself writing and rewriting again and again because I didn't see something the first time that was obvious IF I really took my time and studied faithfully.
As I get older and wiser, I am finding that there were some passages that I didn't realize weren't saying what I thought they were! I had preached those passages before, heard them preached, and read books based on them, but upon further study I found that they had a depth that I had not considered before.
For example, I am currently working on a message about the Good Samaritan from Luke 10 that isn't primarily about showing kindness to strangers in need, nor is it an allegory (a story, poem, or picture that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning, typically a moral or political one). St. Augustine famously took the parable in a very different direction with his allegory. He made the Good Samaritan to be Christ, The Robbed Man was Adam, The Robbers were Satan and His demons, and then he went so far as to make the In-keeper the Apostles! What? I've heard it preached like this before, completely out of context and missing the point. A simple yet careful reading of passages like these help us see that there is a greater reason for the passage. Jesus didn't just randomly pluck this story out of the air. It wasn't intended to just stand on it's own. It was part of a conversation.
Just to keep you in suspense, I'm not going to just hand you the point right now. Perhaps after I've delivered the sermon I'll share my insights from looking at the bigger picture. Until then, please do the same. Please read the whole conversation. Think about what is being said throughout and what the argument is really about. It might just amaze you.
There are plenty of other passages that, when examined in context, take on a whole new meaning. Take the commonly quoted Matthew 18:20, "For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them." It's not about the prayer meeting where only a couple people showed up. Look at what Matthew is talking about here. This verse is couched in a section speaking about Christians having the authority to confronting sin in other believers. Of course, the omnipresent God is present with believers no matter how small the group may be, but more importantly he has given us a heavy task of dealing with hard things in the church including discipline, yet he doesn't leave us alone in it. How cool is that!
One last example for you. Jeremiah 29:11 is a postcard passage that many people love and with good reason. It's a beautiful sounding promise when cut out of it's Old Testament context and without consideration to the audience it was written to. This verse was not just written to you or me individually, but to a people in a particular time and place. The Israelites were told that "God had plans to prosper them and not harm them" when they were about to go into about 70 years of captivity and slavery. Hmm... where is the prosperity preacher now? Did they suffer during that time. Yes. Did they flourish and grow even in the face of adversity? Yes! Where was their future and hope? It was coming, but there is no doubt that some never got to see it in it's fullness. Some died in captivity. Yet they did have a hope that they could hold onto as long as they lived. God loved them and was with them. If you read past verse 11, there's much more revealed about God's character and you can always take that to the bank.
Now, this "prosperity" wasn't anything like what we think of it as today. We need to change our definition of prosperity from just the materialistic or sensual comforts we can afford, more than our health and wealth. Our greatest prosperity is the blessing of knowing God! We need to remember that faith grows in adversity, character is built in challenges, and joy is strengthened even through pain. The hope and future that we are promised is in our ultimate deliverance, not just being saved from our temporary present struggles. There is a day coming when we shall prosper forever! Certainly, there are little deliverance moments along the way and times of peace and refreshing because God is good even when our circumstances aren't.
Bottom line: We have to be very careful not to chop up scripture into little Christianese sound bytes. We have to look at context. This takes time and effort, but there are great riches to be found. Brilliant, sparkling truths that truly are good news!
Just for fun, I've attached some Tim Hawkins comedy. He's funny but often with a point. Here's a video of him talking about our over-use of Christianese. Enjoy
I've had a lot of those moments in life. Funny thing though, I DO try to read the instructions first! I know, I'm a rare man. Still, I have gotten pretty far along in some projects and assignments when I suddenly realize that I have to start over.
To be perfectly honest, even in my sermon prep I find myself writing and rewriting again and again because I didn't see something the first time that was obvious IF I really took my time and studied faithfully.
As I get older and wiser, I am finding that there were some passages that I didn't realize weren't saying what I thought they were! I had preached those passages before, heard them preached, and read books based on them, but upon further study I found that they had a depth that I had not considered before.
For example, I am currently working on a message about the Good Samaritan from Luke 10 that isn't primarily about showing kindness to strangers in need, nor is it an allegory (a story, poem, or picture that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning, typically a moral or political one). St. Augustine famously took the parable in a very different direction with his allegory. He made the Good Samaritan to be Christ, The Robbed Man was Adam, The Robbers were Satan and His demons, and then he went so far as to make the In-keeper the Apostles! What? I've heard it preached like this before, completely out of context and missing the point. A simple yet careful reading of passages like these help us see that there is a greater reason for the passage. Jesus didn't just randomly pluck this story out of the air. It wasn't intended to just stand on it's own. It was part of a conversation.
Just to keep you in suspense, I'm not going to just hand you the point right now. Perhaps after I've delivered the sermon I'll share my insights from looking at the bigger picture. Until then, please do the same. Please read the whole conversation. Think about what is being said throughout and what the argument is really about. It might just amaze you.
There are plenty of other passages that, when examined in context, take on a whole new meaning. Take the commonly quoted Matthew 18:20, "For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them." It's not about the prayer meeting where only a couple people showed up. Look at what Matthew is talking about here. This verse is couched in a section speaking about Christians having the authority to confronting sin in other believers. Of course, the omnipresent God is present with believers no matter how small the group may be, but more importantly he has given us a heavy task of dealing with hard things in the church including discipline, yet he doesn't leave us alone in it. How cool is that!
One last example for you. Jeremiah 29:11 is a postcard passage that many people love and with good reason. It's a beautiful sounding promise when cut out of it's Old Testament context and without consideration to the audience it was written to. This verse was not just written to you or me individually, but to a people in a particular time and place. The Israelites were told that "God had plans to prosper them and not harm them" when they were about to go into about 70 years of captivity and slavery. Hmm... where is the prosperity preacher now? Did they suffer during that time. Yes. Did they flourish and grow even in the face of adversity? Yes! Where was their future and hope? It was coming, but there is no doubt that some never got to see it in it's fullness. Some died in captivity. Yet they did have a hope that they could hold onto as long as they lived. God loved them and was with them. If you read past verse 11, there's much more revealed about God's character and you can always take that to the bank.
Now, this "prosperity" wasn't anything like what we think of it as today. We need to change our definition of prosperity from just the materialistic or sensual comforts we can afford, more than our health and wealth. Our greatest prosperity is the blessing of knowing God! We need to remember that faith grows in adversity, character is built in challenges, and joy is strengthened even through pain. The hope and future that we are promised is in our ultimate deliverance, not just being saved from our temporary present struggles. There is a day coming when we shall prosper forever! Certainly, there are little deliverance moments along the way and times of peace and refreshing because God is good even when our circumstances aren't.
Bottom line: We have to be very careful not to chop up scripture into little Christianese sound bytes. We have to look at context. This takes time and effort, but there are great riches to be found. Brilliant, sparkling truths that truly are good news!
Just for fun, I've attached some Tim Hawkins comedy. He's funny but often with a point. Here's a video of him talking about our over-use of Christianese. Enjoy