- February 29, 2012
- 3 Comments
Reading Scripture in order to Love
I am giving you these commands so that you may love one another. Jn 15.17
What do you use Jesus’ teaching for? The temptation exists in our Christian world today to read scripture – specifically, the words, teachings and prophetic actions of Jesus – for lesser ends:
- To alleviate my anxiety – Feeling rushed, busy, angry, selfish, worried, afraid we go to scripture to ‘get’ something to quiet our busy mind. Such noise is produced in our brain by our own internal lack of shalom. Reading scripture to ‘shout down’ the noise – adding more noise and busyness (from Jesus) to the already noisy and busy soul – does not lead to love. If you are anxious, nervous, loud inside – try silence, attentive listening and stillness. Jesus’ teaching is for love. When we use it as holy noise to drown out mind clutter we miss out on love. Only from a place of stillness and peace can we receive the implanted word with meekness.
- To bolster my positions - Jesus’ commands undo, subvert, illuminate where there is darkness. Interrogating the text for answers or ammunition puts us in a posture where repentance, conversion, and humility are unwelcome. Indeed scripture does comfort and console…but only if we are genuinely open and expectant to be confronted and converted. We – not THEY – are the intended audience of whatever text is being read. Me – not her – is who should have ears to hear. Read and meditate on scripture to love others starts with allowing scripture to love you – and love burrows down and incubates in a heart ready to repent.
Jesus commands are intended to lead us to love – to be loved, to be in love, to be loving. What good but lesser end interferes with what Christ intends his written Word to do in you? For me, the above two temptations exist, along with: being right, learning more, sermon prep, counseling prep…none of which are bad/wrong…but they are insufficient – and none of them necessarily lead to love.
What practices are needed to allow Jesus’ commands their intended impact?
How are you tempted to truncate the power of scripture by pursuing lesser ends?
Jesus’ commands are not burdensome; his yoke is light and easy. Why do you think we often read despairing over how ‘difficult’ it is to follow Jesus?
Categorized: Bible Study, Confession/Repentance, Love, Small Groups, Uncategorized Tags:
I too am tempted to approach the Scriptures in these two ways. I think you have articulated them well. I have seen in my own life the fruit of these approaches: fear, anxiety, anger, defensiveness, control, and ultimately a distancing between myself and others.
A good friend of mine recently brought up a good point about this. It seems that these days a very limited number of Christians can honestly wrestle with what you are suggesting here. The reason is because, if my friend’s hunch is accurate, not very many Christians are actually reading the Scriptures.
To your question 1, perhaps the first practice we need to give ourselves over to is reading the Scriptures. Are we as leaders really encouraging (inviting/challenging) our people to submit themselves to the Scriptures, offering models and rhythms to immerse themselves in God’s written word?
We read and preach from the Scriptures on Sundays, and we encourage our people to discuss the weekly text together, paying attention to what God is saying and responding in faithfulness, but is this enough to even begin having this conversation? Or is this conversation meant only for Biblicists like you and me?
I think the Sunday gathering and small groups are great places to begin, but probably the best (maybe the only) venue for truly cultivating this practice of reading the Scriptures in a way that leads us to love is in discipling relationships.
We have seen in evangelicalism a push from the pulpit for people to read their Bibles: personal devotions, quiet times, etc. And it seems like this has led people (the few who are actually strong enough to sustain it) to and individualized practice that has led to approaching the Scriptures in postures of utility and power, rather than humility and love. If we want people (and ourselves!) to begin reading the Scriptures in order to love, it’s probably only going to happen in the lives of disciple-making disciples.
Those are my thoughts.
Ryan -
Good thoughts here. What I hear you saying is we have to be disciples in order to read for love. And I agree. The posture of a disciple – a “learner” – is one of submission and humility before the text. Allow the text to read us as we read it. Meeting the Living Word in the written word…I find that I’m often my own worst enemy when it comes to simply listening to scripture. I hear myself – and my anxieties/fears – more than i hear God. Or rather, I filter God (and remake him, perhaps) out of my anxieties.
Going to post soon on learning to listen – I think this is key to what you’re saying here.
Peace -
I actually don’t use Jesus’ teaching, at all.
I just live. In the freedom of the gospel…for my neighbor. And sometimes not.
Fully saint…and fully sinner.
Thanks!