A change in direction

I have been without direction and purpose in reading the Bible, but am trying something new. I am trying a change in direction. In the past, I have tried to read a certain number of passages/chapters/books per day/week/month. This works well at certain times, but it has become dry to me. I have decided to take in smaller amounts of Scripture at a time in an effort to digest them better. It is kind of like eating and being fed; sure you can get full by stuffing your face, but do you enjoy the taste and texture of the food? Do you actually get a sense of how the food was supposed to taste and nourish? Sure, there are times when you have to scarf food down, but a meal is much more enjoyable when slowly eaten and appreciated. I would much rather slowly get full and enjoy the tastes and textures of the food. Same with the Word of God. I tend to read it like a newspaper or a book that I am just trying to finish. I try to get the high points and the general flow without actually getting lost in the story. I want to get lost in the meaning of Scripture and truly taste and see that the LORD and His Word are good. Not a perfect analogy, but it will work for now.

My plan is to sit and dwell on a verse or verses at a time. I want to get into what the Author is trying to convey, what the words he uses mean, and how it fits into the meta-narrative of the Bible. I want to look up cross references and truly study the Word of God. God has revealed himself in the world (creation) and His Word. I want to know God by knowing His Word. So, I am starting in John. I will try to share some of what I am learning as I go.

John 1 is a powerful and dense piece of writing. The book of John is written by the Apostle John many years after the other three gospels were written. John wrote to add to the testimony and witness that Jesus of Nazareth truly was the Messiah and the Son of God. He uses personal and detailed accounts of experiences with Jesus and his disciples to prove and convey that this God-man was the promised anointed one (the Messiah, the Christ). John begins by speaking about the nature of God – Trinitarian in nature. Jesus (called the Word) has always existed, was with God (implying that he was distinct from God), and was God (not many gods, but one God with three distinct beings). The Trinity is one of the most baffling and complicated issues in the accepted doctrines of Christianity. Another is that Jesus was fully God and fully man (how does 1+1=1?). These are hard to understand, but I do not want to go into these, quite yet.

John continues by talking about John the Baptist. John the Baptist was sent by God to be a witness of the coming Messiah, Jesus. One thing that I noted when reading this was that John the Baptist obeyed. He just did what God called Him to do. John the Baptist will go on to say later that he did not even know Jesus, but was fully assured of what God had called him to do – be a messenger/witness/herald/ambassador for the coming of the Christ, Jesus. John the Baptist was to be the ‘voice in the wilderness, preparing the way of the LORD.’ God had told him very little about the Christ, but had given John enough to trust and obey. I just got caught up in the fact that John the Baptist just obeyed and did what God called him to do. John the Baptist was somewhat a radical and ostracized for living in the wilderness, baptizing people, telling them to repent of their sins for the coming of Messiah is near, and speaking about things that had yet to happen. John the Baptist was counter-cultural and unashamed. I love that!

Jesus said of John the Baptist that he was the greatest man born of a woman to have ever lived. Wow. John the Baptist got it. Remember that the disciples still thought until the death of Jesus on the cross that Jesus was going to bring an earthly Kingdom with military, political and social power. However, John the Baptist said when he saw Jesus for the first time, ‘This is the Lamb of God who will take away the sins of the world.’ John the Baptist got it. He knew that Jesus came to save the world from their sins not to overtake it and bring the Jews to power. John the Baptist was a man. He got it.

John the Baptist was not after getting followers or disciples, because as soon as Jesus showed up John’s disciples left to follow Jesus. That’s a change in direction. John the Baptist was a man. He pointed people to Jesus, the one who could save their souls. Let us be men and women like that.

Let us make disciples of Jesus. Let us not point people to ourselves. Let us obey immediately when God calls, trusting that He will provide what we need. Let us be convinced that Jesus is the light that cannot be overcome by the darkness. Let us be convinced that Jesus is the promised Anointed one who came to take away the sins of the world. Let us be doers of the Word and not just readers/hearers.

Father, help me to love Your Word.