General or Personal Application?

I recently led an Inductive Bible Study course at church aimed to help reading and Bible study to be more fruitful.  A similar course I took many years ago had a profound impact to help me develop the skill of careful observation, more accurate interpretation and personal application of God's word.  Familiarity with the Bible can cause us to skim or gloss over critical information, to fall back on what we already know as if it is all there is to know, and never take definite action in light of one specific thing God has said.

When I put together an itinerary for board meetings at church, each director has a slot to report on notable things that have occurred since our last meeting.  Before we launch into "New Business," we read through "Unfinished Business," and these are projects which have yet to be completed.  Once I was a board member of an organisation that always put "Unfinished Business" at the end.  These important tasks and projects were rarely mentioned and not completed because they were afterthoughts when time was running out rather than a priority given prime time.  Our "Unfinished Business" was never finished because there was never discussion or specific actions delegated to directors.  At the conclusion of our board meetings at church, we always review "Actions to be Taken" so every director is reminded of their responsibilities and will be held accountable to report on them the following meeting.

One of the points of emphasis of the recent Inductive Bible Study was our need as Christians to intentionally put into practice what God has said.  Our tendency when it comes to personal application of God's word is to keep it general, and this requires no action at all.  When Jesus was asked by a lawyer who sought to justify himself, "Who is my neighbour?" Jesus responded by telling the story of the Good Samaritan.  In the tale the Pharisee and Levite ignored the plight of the wounded man who was beaten and robbed on the road to Jericho, but a Samaritan was moved with compassion to help him.  Jesus asked the lawyer in Luke 10:36-37:  "So which of these three do you think was neighbour to him who fell among the thieves?" ³⁷ And he said, "He who showed mercy on him." Then Jesus said to him, "Go and do likewise."  Rather than setting limits on who should be considered a neighbour, Jesus taught the lawyer and all who read His word to be neighbourly, to go out of our way to show mercy on others.

There is a difference between applying this passage generally and personally.  Some might be content to say, "A Christian ought to help people who are hurting" or "We should be willing to give sacrificially for the good of others like the Good Samaritan."  These points of application are not personal at all.  To make it personal, we need to include an "I" in our answer and put it in the "Unfinished Business" section of our pressing agenda.  Our takeaway could be something like, "I need to show mercy on so-and-so, and I've failed to do that.  I've been like the Pharisee or Levite, dismissive of his/her feelings or needs.  Now is the time to make a call and apologise for being callous and careless."  When the word of God is applied personally in our lives, it is always a call to action:  is God telling me of a sin I need to avoid or a command to obey?  Are there promises to believe or examples to follow I have ignored?  What should I do in light of what God is saying?

When we begin to make our decisions and live according to God's word, faith expressed by humble obedience to all God has said, God's word will become exponentially fruitful in our lives.  The Bible will go from words on a page or knowledge in our heads to being most practical and useful, working by the renewing of our minds to transform aloof Pharisees into godly people who repent and freely give mercy.