Busted. I sat in our first class and heard our leader, Lachlan say in his S. African accent, “SBS isn’t about you.” I must admit, I have selfish motives. I want to gain knowledge of God and the Bible. That’s the main reason I came. I would say to people, “This will be a great foundation in any ministry I get into.”
To a certain extent, that motive isn’t all bad I guess, but what Lachlan said, will be on my mind in a contemplative way. What will I do with all this knowledge of the Bible? According to our leader, I will be in the top 5% of the world for bible knowledge. Its truly a privilege that God has allowed Camille and I to be here and study the Word in depth and grow in relationship with our Father.
I have benefited beyond any typed explanation from having the Bible in my life, yet many people do not even have a Bible. Do we understand the privilege? The English language has probably more translations than all the other languages combined, yet many people have none or only one version that has been translated. We discuss, argue, critique every word in translations while some leaders of large churches outside the US (like China or Nepal) can’t read. That messed with my theology a bit when I heard that. I also hear of people in persecuted countries exchanging pages of one bible between a network of churches.
The Bible wasn’t mass produced until the 1600’s, meaning common folk couldn’t read it, and if they had access they had to know Latin. I think in this room I am in I see 3 bibles plus my ipod where I have it in the Chinese language which I can’t even read! haha!
It makes me realize, God uses people where they are at and many 3rd world countries have high illiteracy rates. Of course, these places would benefit from the written Word. Thankfully, the gospel is a paradox of complexity and simplicity. Its a simple as love God and love your neighbor and as complex as trying to understand the supernatural or Revelations and end times. It’s made for the simple mind and the intellectual. God gives wisdom and revelation to all who ask by His Spirit.
I pray that we keep the Gospel simple but also seek out the depths of God in this life. Father, help us see the true privilege it is to have a Bible. I pray that our relationship with You isn’t lost in the web of theology, but our theology always points to stronger relationship with You. AMEN
More on this from my friend at Royal Soil check out: http://royalsoil.wordpress.com/2011/03/25/its-about-jesus-and-his-mission/
My wife and I are part of the Awaken Community. We desire restoration and reconciliation in the broken and lost. We both love God and are committed to following his will. I enjoys taking photographs of my travels as well as blogging about awesome things God does or teaches me. To see more photos, visit our gallery. More about Calvin and Camille
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