Making Sense of Scripture

Anyone who has read the Bible thoughtfully at times will wonder, "What does that mean?"  I must admit, when I was younger I would plow through chapters without even thinking!  But times of quality, prayerful reading trumps quantity every time.  We should open the word with a humble heart seeking to learn from God.  It is good for us to read again and consider even well-trod passages, for within them many priceless gems are hidden.  Sometimes our questions generated from a text are clearly answered later in the text if we would only keep reading.  Last night was one of those times, when reading a little further clarified with precision what Jesus meant.

As I read John 15, I came to verse 9:  "As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love."  I stopped there and asked my family, "What does Jesus mean that we are to "abide" in His love?  How do we do that?"  Blank looks from my sons made it evident they had no idea what I was talking about.  This should be expected:  who uses the word "abide" in common conversation anymore?  After I explained that abiding means to remain, continue, or stay, I asked "How can we abide in Christ's love?"  Again, no answer was promptly given.  I continued in verse 10:  "If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love."  We abide in God's love by keeping Christ's commands.  When we kept reading we learned the result of obedience and what command Jesus is talking about:  John 15:11-12 says, "These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full. ¹² This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you."

Jesus loves us, and Christians ought to abide in His love.  We abide in His love by keeping His commandments.  His commandment is that we love one another as He has loved us!  So we abide in Christ's love when we love one another.  Had we stopped reading at verse 9, the abstract language Jesus uses could have kept us in doubt as to what He specifically meant.  But when we continued to read, the logical progression makes perfect sense.  This was a good illustration to our family that when we are stumped by a scripture, we should pause and pull it apart into bite-sized pieces.  No one would think to shove a 72oz. steak into their mouth without first cutting it up into manageable pieces, and it would be presumptuous to think we can understand in one quick read everything contained in a single statement made by Christ.  When we read in context, reading many verses on each side of a verse we don't comprehend, often the Bible will explain itself.  This is especially true when reading parables told by Jesus.  If you're not sure what He means, keep reading!

Reading the Bible is not merely an intellectual or literary exercise.  We need the aid of the Holy Spirit to comprehend and properly apply the truths of scripture.  Anyone can buy a pallete, oil paints, brushes, and a canvas, but that does not mean he can paint!  Owning a Bible does not mean that you can make any sense out of it without divine aid!  When Phillip overtook the Ethiopian eunuch who was reading in Isaiah, Phillip asked him if he understood what he read.  He wisely replied, "How can I unless someone guides me?"  The Holy Spirit has been sent by the Father to guide us into all truth.  We need to be born again and ask God to do for us what Jesus did for the disciples who were spiritually blind in Luke 24:45:  "And He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures."  Even as Christ opened the eyes of the physically blind, He can open the eyes and ears of our heart to receive His Word in truth if we humbly ask Him.  God has given us His Word, not so He might cleverly shroud Himself from plain view, but so we might intimately know Him.  As the old song says, "Open our eyes, LORD.  We want to see Jesus, to reach out and touch Him, and say that we love Him."  This is God's will for all people!