I am reading A Year of Living Biblically by A J Jacobs. Basically, the author (who also read the entire Encyclopaedia Britannica and wrote a book in that) tries living a life by following every rule in the Bible. Some rules are easy. Some make sense. Some are very hard. Some contradict each other. As you can imagine, living this out is tough. I love the book.
But, is living Biblically what we are called to do? I don't think so. It may bring us closer to God but there is still a leap left to take. I think we are to love God and life is the fruit of this. In fairness, Jacobs is shaped by his practice in a Godly way.
Don't get me wrong. I do think the Bible is inspired and it does point us toward God. But it is more than rules. We are not asked to worship the Bible. We are called to worship (love) God.
Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.
Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul
and with all your strength. Deuteronomy 6:4-5
God is love. 1 John 4:16
One can have every piece of the Bible memorized and dissected and not have a relationship to God. Life flows from relating to God. So, when we say, "I'm a good person," we are really saying nothing about our love of God. We only are making a claim of self-sufficiency or worthiness. If we are not in love with God, live is diminished.
I love Christine. I don't know everything about her. She baffles me at times. We hang in with each other at other times. I get tough-tied. As far as I know, Christine has not published a Rule Book nor would she want me to substitute it for loving her. It's all about relationships (and not about being right.)
Bible mastery has the allure of seemingly putting us in control. No life-giving relationship is about control. Life comes in abandonment to a subject of love worth loving, whether it is Christine or God.
Are you willing to stop being a "good person," substituting being right for rules and, instead, abandon yourself to the out-of-control endeavor of loving God? It's worth it.
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