Bible (Photo credit: Sean MacEntee)

Devotional Thought of the Day:

105 Your word is a lamp to guide me and a light for my path.Psalm 119:105 (TEV) 

“You are badly disposed if you listen to the word of God with a critical spirit.”  ( #943 -The Way, St. Josemaria Escriva)

The juxtapostion of the course I am taking andmy denomination’s convention(held every three years) is causing me much thought about how we view scripture and indeed what we believe and how we communicate it.

In both cases, what is being heard and read seems to indicate we think interpretation of scripture and communicating it gives us some authority over it. In the case of the textbooks, there is a not so subtle projection of doubt, and a definite attitude that we are the authority, not the text.  I have experienced a similar thing as we begin this convention, where people speaking have locked in their mind what they think the scriptures mean – (as well as the Lutheran Confessions)  And if you challenge their assumptions, well let’s just say there is a lot of loyalty to the assumptions.
Again, we find ourselves as the judge – and our interpretation ( or that handed to us) as being the final statement, the final judgment.

I would suggest instead, that we return to the point where God’s word is that which we use as the norm and standard.That we know it so well, and hold it in such esteem, that we do love this communique from our God – and we allow the Spirit to use it to stir up faith within us.   For it is His revelation of His love, of His plan, of Himself to us, to bond us to Him.

May we read it, may we hear it and consume it, knowing that God has given the word to usas a precious gift.

For it shares with us the answer to our plea: Lord Have Mercy!

and His answer is….  I AM.

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