Day 7: The Miracle of Making Sense

Every moment of understanding the Bible is a Miracle.  I often hear the question, “Why don’t miracles, like those found in the Bible, happen more often today.”  Now, first off, I would debate that.  I think miracles happen more readily than we understand or aware of.  We’ve just become better at explaining away the inexplicable.  But…that’s a whole different conversation.  The point I’m trying to make is that when you or I pick up the Bible, open its pages, read from its Word, and walk away with a deeper understanding or wisdom that shapes how we perceive God, the world we live in, or what we are called to do as faithful followers of Jesus, we’ve just experienced a miracle…one deserving of thanksgiving and glory to God.

The Bible isn’t like any other book.  We don’t just read it and try to get from it what we can.  No, the Bible is a medium of communication, and as we’ve been saying, God’s primary means of self-revelation.  God uses the Bible to make himself known.  In that sense, it is an act of communication from the Divine.  We might say, the Bible is about revelation.  It’s about God speaking to us what we would not know if God had not said it.  The Bible isn’t man’s best attempts to make sense of the world.  No, the Bible is the most faithful rendering of the world as God knows it to be, spoken through various humans, at various times, inspired through the Spirit of God for the purposes of revealing to the people of God His intentions for this world and our place in it.

Revelation is a miracle.  Anytime we can be apprehended by God’s grace in a way that we can comprehend the infinite wisdom of an almighty God, we’ve just experienced a miracle.  How else do we explain that we gather around an ancient book, some pieces having been written nearly 3000 years ago and still today this Ancient text seems to bear within it relevant meaning.  In addition, it’s not just relevant meaning, it has within it the power to take that meaning, apply it to the soul of a person or a community and call that person or community into a radical transformative encounter with God that changes who they are forever.  That’s a miracle.

Because it’s a miracle there’s a few things that might help you along the journey into miraculous living…

1. Understanding doesn’t require degrees:  Ok, so this one may sound odd coming from me.  I’m pretty sold out to the value of a good education (biblically and theologically speaking).  I’ve spent a lot of money hanging pieces of paper on my wall.  However, a degree doesn’t mean someone understands the Bible.  Understanding the Bible is more about a posture of one’s heart than it is the quality of their education.  Humility is a prerequisite.  Some of the best interpreters of the Bible I’ve met throughout the years have been farmers and factory workers, blue collar mechanics and business owners, stay at home moms and elementary school teachers.  None of them were seminary trained.  However, each had cultivated a relationship with the Lord, a deep devotion, a regular practice of prayer and communication, each of them sat before the Word of God in anticipation of God making known what they would not have known if He had not said it.  Revelation doesn’t discriminate based upon education.  It begins with a heart hungry and passionate for God, one that clings to the Bible in hopes and faith that God will speak through it.
   
2. You are not alone when reading:  This is beautiful.  When we sit down to discover the contents of the Scriptures, we aren’t on our own.  The Spirit of God is at work.  The Scriptures are a primary means through which the Spirit of God works to make God’s desires and intentions known.  In 2 Timothy 3:16, the Apostle Paul states that “All Scripture is God-Breathed…”  What Paul is conveying is that the inspiration and origin of all Scripture is the work of God’s Spirit.  What we have been given in the Bible is the gift from God.  But this also means, the same spirit at work in the origin of the text is the same Spirit at work in us as we cling to the text.  God’s Spirit is a primary player in the miracle of making sense.   In John 16:12-15, Jesus tells the disciples that when the Spirit comes He will guide us to “truth.”  That means when you and I read the Scripture well, we are actually caught up in the life of God, that God draws us into the Spirit through the Word, revealing the contents of the Word through the Spirit so that we can live well in following Jesus the Son, to the glorious and redemptive purposes of the Father.  That’s a Miracle.
   
3. This Miracle is often missed when Scripture reading is Sporadic:  God is free to move in any way he chooses.  Without a doubt, there are moments when God chooses to reveal God’s self in profound ways to those who grab for the Bible every once in a while.  However, I would suggest that because the Bible is about communication and participation in the Spirit, regularity is key.  We will discover the miracle of making sense at a far greater degree when we live in a consistency of communication.  Humble, faithful, dependent, hungry passion for God’s Word tills the soil and creates a ripe environment for God’s faithful, transformative, sometimes disruptive revelation that will leave you in awe and gratitude.  

When reading the Bible NOTE:  1.) Be consistent.  2.) Come hungry and expectant.  3.)  Pray for the aide of the Spirit.  4.)  Maintain humility and a spirit of obedience.  5.)  Dive in and let the Story become your story.  6.)  Make notes of what God speaks (what miracle just happened?)  7.)  Give God glory and thanksgiving for teaching you what you would not know if He had not said it.  8.)  Put to practice what He’s revealed.

Let’s jump back in to Scripture:
Today, if you are following our reading plan, you should be in Luke chapter 7…if you are an over achiever and have left us behind, more power to you.  For those following along, I want you to take note of the special nature of the miraculous in this chapter.
What do you think about Jesus being shocked by the Centurion’s Faith?  What might it mean for you to live a life that shocks Jesus?