This morning I read a post on Alan Hirsch’s blog that tweaked many of my buttons. In a good way, of course.
Bonhoeffer believed that the only way to truly comprehend the revelation of God in scripture is by approaching it with the pre-commitment to obey it. For those interested in weird theological terms, he calls this ‘tropological exegesis’ or simply ‘tropology’. Bonhoeffer can therefore speak of discipleship as a ‘problem of exegesis’ and goes on to say, “By eliminating simple obedience on principle, we drift into an unevangelical interpretation of the Bible.” So, if we never obey God we can never understand or follow him. Simply believing right doctrine is not enough. As followers of Jesus, we have to start obeying long before we know and understand much of Him whom we obey. More than that, if we take obedience out of the equation, we cannot even hope to truly understand the bible. Calvin can claim that true knowledge of God is born out of obedience, and to obey takes us to the path of action, of praxis, of goodness.
You may read the rest of the quote here.
The point here is; if we do not approach Scripture with the intent to obey, then we cannot glean that which is intended from the Scripture in the first place. It was written in order to help us recognize and practice those things which are inherently part of the path towards God through Jesus Christ.
Hmm, there is quite a difference between reading Scripture with the intent to make it through the book every year, and reading with the intent to obey. One of my friends, Paul, would say that this is one of the major pieces that Christendom is missing, especially with the current emphasis on hierarchy and preaching. For me, this alone has caused me to slow down, way down, in my daily reading. Context is great, and I do read for continuity as well. Content is better especially when you also understand the context.
May we always connect with our Lord with the mindset of obedience.
Filed under: Discipleship, Theology | 2 Comments
God MUST have a sense of Humor
I have often said everytime I look in a mirror I realize that God must have a sense of humor. This may not sound like a big deal, but I could not have said this without crying 40 years ago. Yes, I am that old…
Being handicapped in a sports and looks-minded culture has been an adjustment to say the least. When I was young, even after becoming acquainted with Jesus, what others thought and did about my looks and abilities meant a lot. At least it did until I ran into people that looked great on the outside, and had many of the things that I thought I was missing, and realized that they had their own issues. Some of them much more serious than trouble getting around and looking a little different than they did.
The more time I spent around others, many of whom are successful in their own eyes, the more I realized that what I had, Jesus as my friend and mentor, relationships in serving Him, opportunities to bring joy to others, and a great family, were beyond the best. And yet, there is always the perception of others when we interact. So what.
This is what. There seem to be two types of people in the world. Those that avoid me and those that don’t. Sounds profound? To me, it is. Because when I find someone who does not avoid me, it speaks to their comfort with themselves. If they are comfortable that they have something to offer to others, they typically are not uncomfortable around me. If they are not confident in their own skin, they have difficulty, because they think that I probably am worse off then they are. If they cannot help themselves, how could they possibly have something to say to me? No matter the cause of their self-esteem, in an initial meeting, they non-verbally tell me a lot about what they think of themselves in relation to the rest of the world. And, their comfort level in their own skin.
Is the virtual gimp different. Only at the skin level. Do I still worry about my family, my friends, those that God has put within my sphere of influence? Without a doubt. We are all on a journey. We are all offered different tools to make that journey. May God grant us all the tools we need to make the journey He has placed in front of us. Whether it be friends ( of which I have been blessed with many), or family (I love mine with all of my heart!), or acquaintances, these are the players of record for our journey. May I (we) remember and pray for each and all of those we have around us as we journey! For I am the Virtual Gimp…
Filed under: General, Uncategorized | 2 Comments
The Virtual Gimp 