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i grew up being taught that the bible was god’s “love letter” to people. from my childhood, i heard and read stories of god’s great love and compassion and grace. i was told the story again and again of how god “so loved the world that he gave his one and only son”…for me.
as i’ve grown older, i don’t believe those stories any less. as a matter of fact, i am more convinced of god’s great love for me…and you…than i have ever been.
but things are more complicated for me now.
i have also come to realize that the bible…god’s word…is the most polarizing, inflammatory and misunderstood book ever written.
the mere statement, “in the beginning, god created…” is intellectually explosive and culturally divisive. for most, they are not words of security and sovereign comfort, but words that draw lines in the sand.
we live in a day and age where, if one states, “the bible says…”, another is quick to respond, “well that’s just your opinion.” or worse yet, “a god of love would never say or do anything like that!”
look, everybody views life from a lens or a world view. people have starting points and basic assumptions that frame their opinions and fuel their values and beliefs. sometimes, life experiences come along and rock those core beliefs and cause practical or theological shifts. sometimes they don’t.
the public forum is jammed packed with people giving their opinions on just about everything these days. there are arguments and pleadings and the discourse can be pretty ugly. just today, i was reading the comment section of a news article and the venom spilling out was raw and painful.
it was directed at those people…the people who hide behind “the bible says…”. people who justify their intolerance and ignorance and moral superiority by the words of a book of questionable origin, antiquated cultural values, and varied interpretations.
and here’s the rub: some of the people i love most in the world see ME as one of those people. and though i would disagree with their conclusions about the person i am (ignorant, intolerant, blindly mystical, culturally judgmental, and intellectually suicidal), i would stipulate this:
my life is built on the revealed word of truth in the bible. and as much as i want to at times, i don’t pick and choose those things i will believe and those things i won’t…to fit situations i find myself in or to minimize the awkwardness or discomfort of a cultural impasse.
i desperately want to. but i can’t. i sincerely understand why many people choose to believe some parts of the bible and reject other parts. i hope my dialogue with those folks is always gentle and willing to wrestle with different points of view. i also hope my actions towards them will always be genuine, gracious and committed to pursuing friendship.
but i can’t re-write parts of the bible to my own liking…because if i do, i will have shifted over to trusting myself more than the one who i believe has created me.
the created displacing the creator. i just can’t do it. i hope my friends don’t judge and reject me. i deeply hope my family understands. i recognize my position won’t always be respected or followed.
when i contend for “the bible says…”, i know i am becoming an increasingly unpopular minority. and as the pressure grows, i am more determined than ever to study the book with integrity and walk in the steps and example of jesus. i don’t have all the answers, but i know the one who does.
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