English: The Bible (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Our pastor encourages, “Read your Bibles with a little imagination, folks!”
Before you write my pastor… and me off, hear him out. He makes good sense. It has been said that we conclude the Bible is dull… is it possible that’s because we come to the Word dully? Should we instead be clothing the facts with fascination?
Walk with me for a moment through a very familiar story sprinkled with a few thoughts offered from his arsenal. The narrative is tendered from the fifth chapter of Mark and the eighth chapter of Luke.
You know the story well. Jairus, a ruler of the synagogue, has approached Jesus with an immediate need. His young daughter is ill… about to die. He pleads that Jesus come quickly to his home and Jesus agrees to do so.
As they make their way to Jairus’ home, another familiar story interrupts their journey. A father’s haste to bring help for his daughter is delayed by a woman who touches Jesus’ garment. Jesus stops and asks, “Who touched me?” A conversation breaks out between Jesus, His disciples, and the woman.
Here’s where your imagination kicks in. What is Jairus thinking as the hurried journey to his daughter’s impending death bed is halted in lieu of a woman who has been dealing with an illness for a very long time?
Does he think, “Excuse me Lord, but I was ticket number thirty-two… this woman is thirty-three! My daughter’s about to die! Can’t this conversation wait one more day?”
My pastor’s point is valid. We gain the most from the text when we place ourselves in the text, realizing these were real people with real emotions just like ours.
The Word of God is not dull, but alive and vibrant! Considering the fact that we retain only ten percent of what we read, a meditative approach towards Scripture is not only of value… it is essential.
Think of it in light of the old coffee percolators. The steamy water is ran again and again through the coffee grains… pulling more and more flavor into the pot… the pot that will soon yield your first morning cup. It should be a good cup.
Related articles
- Stalking Jesus? (theycallmekeeks.com)
- How Can I Know Jesus? (ptl2010.com)
- Your Way… have it your way (ptl2010.com)
- Why Read the Bible? – Day 21 of 32 – Understanding of the Word (christlikeministriesnwa.wordpress.com)
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The Word of God is ALIVE. When we read, expecting God to give us light, He does. I am constantly amazed at how, even a passage which I might have read hundreds of times before, suddenly becomes “new” because Holy Spirit has revealed a new understanding, a new aspect of His unchanging truth.
We serve an amazing God!
The word is ever alive! I just made a post last night and I put a clip from my second book, Soul Collector, from my upcoming trilogy, Martyrdom Series, in the article. I hope you do not mind me pasting this link here, but I think you would really appreciate the article. It reminds us of what Jesus really did for us, and what YHWH did by sending Him to us to begin with.
http://lynleahz.com/2012/06/18/the-crown-of-thornsare-you-wearing-one/
I like that. I never looked at it that way before.
No, it should be a great cup and is, if you choose to pick it up and drink!
Keep the Faith!
Awesome! The bible rocks! People are missing out on titillating truths.
God Bless You!
Thank you for following itsmindbloggeling. I enjoyed reading to Infinity and beyond. I am glad to meet another brother and sister in Christ. Nancy
Love it!
A cup of the Living Word, Please
Yes, the Word of God is ever alive…speaking to us daily. My thought has always been, for those of us who have never sat down and studied it in its entirity; what shall we say when we are kneeling in judgment at the feet of our creator? In fact, what shall we say for all of the disobedience and purposeful sinning? We oftentimes don’t think about how real it shall be, and that it’s closer than we think. So we put it off and continue in sin, thinking to ourselves, “Oh, I’ll eventually stop.” We’re always just a heartbeat away… and it’s time for all of us to humble ourselves before the One who hung the stars in the sky, and breathed the breath of life into everything…yes…that great and mighty God…and it is the day for us to fall upon our faces before Him and truly repent for our disobedience before it is too late. Great articles!
Great analogy, it is good to think on what we read in the Word. 🙂