Skip to main content

The Bible is like…

Over the years, people have often compared the Bible to a map or an instruction book, because it is something that gives you information and tells you how to get home.

While I understand that, I have two problems with those analogies. First, maps and instruction books are boring! You only use them when you are lost or in trouble and you do not use them every day. Secondly, the Bible never calls itself a “map” or an “instruction book”. It does, however, give us some other, much more useful, pictures.

1. The Bible is a Light. “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path” (Psalm 119:105). Lights are powerful. They allow us to see and understand what is around us and, strangely enough, they give us courage!

My Grandparents used to live about four blocks from our house and the quickest way to get there was to cut through a cemetery. I was never scared of the cemetery in the daytime, but nighttime was a different story. The lack of light made the journey more difficult and much scarier.

2. The Bible is a story. Stories are inspiring and they touch us in ways that other things simply cannot. If you have ever cried during a movie, you know the power of a story.

After crossing the Jordan River on dry ground, the men are commanded to pick up twelve stones from the riverbed and make a monument out of them. Then God says, “In the future, when your children ask you, 'What do these stones mean?' tell them that the flow of the Jordan was cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord” (Joshua 4:6-7). It was important for God’s people to know and pass on the story of how God looked after them.

My point is that the Bible is not a boring, academic book that should only be referred to in times of trouble. Rather, it is a powerful, living, life changing story that gives us light, help and understanding (1 Peter 1:22-23; Hebrews 4:12-13).

If we change the way we think about the Bible, maybe we will read it differently.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Art of Noticing.... Seeing what we need to see and what we miss when we don't

 What we focus on in life matters. Here are some scriptural reminders that will help us see correctly.  https://youtu.be/Rn76tV0ZH8s    
Post a Comment
Read more

New Article: A Path Worth Following

  Jehoram was a terrible king.  He reigned in Judah around the year 850 B.C. and he did not care about God or his people.  His first act as king was to assassinate his six brothers so that no one could challenge his authority.  He was brutal and selfish.   Therefore, when the Bible sums up his life, it says, “Jehoram… passed away, to no one’s regret, and was buried in the City of David” (2 Chronicles 21:20).  Did you catch that?  “To no one’s regret!”  What a terrible phrase for your tombstone. On the other hand, consider a lady named Tabitha.  She lived in the city of Joppa in the first century A.D. and we are told, “… she was always doing good and helping the poor” (Acts 9:36).  She became sick and died.  This caused the community so much grief that they called Peter, who was in the nearby town of Lydda, to come and help them.  When Peter arrived, a crowd gathered, bringing all the robes and other clothing that ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Consider This: Press The Button!

  Consider This:  Press the Button! My favourite TV game show is Jeopardy.  I used to like it even more when my kids were younger, because I could easily beat them and look smart.  These days, after they have grown up and gone to university, it is much more difficult.  However, Jeopardy is still the only game show I will watch. In a book I read, a contestant who did very well on the show shared the secret to his success.  He said (and I am paraphrasing here), “You must press the button before you know the answer.  Everyone on Jeopardy is smart. Everyone knows the answer. The key to winning is to act.  You must jump in and press the button, assuming that your brain will catch up and supply the answer.  If you wait until you are sure, you will be too late!” Press the button! Too often, we hesitate, not because we do not know what to do, but because we do not want to do it.  Sometimes, we fail to act because we are not sure how the situatio...
Post a Comment
Read more