Gentle Reader,
Completely spaced the fact that yesterday was Thursday and the crew was gathering for the Twitter chat. Not that I would have been able to participate, anyway. Had an eye appointment the resulted in numb, dilated eyes and a headache. Such is the fun of that yearly exam.
Kate asks us to think about: guide.
Go.
I have no sense of direction.
Really. Whatever way I am facing is North.
My mom and I went to an antique/junk/shabby chic/craft show last Saturday. I decided to be brave and drive us there, just so long as she would navigate. Good thing that she’s reliable, because I had no idea where I was, what turns I needed to make, or how to replicate the path to get back home. After perusing the treasures for awhile, we made our way up to one of our favorite bookstores. At this point, I argued with her and insisted that the store was on the right-hand side of the road.
It wasn’t.
Honestly, I’m surprised that I’m allowed to go anywhere by myself, let alone have a drivers license.
Later, as I thought about our day, my mind drifted to Psalm 119:
Oh, how I love Your law!
It is my meditation all the day.
You, through Your commandments, make me wiser than my enemies;
For they are ever with me.
I have more understanding than all my teachers,
For Your testimonies are my meditation.
I understand more than the ancients,
Because I keep Your precepts.
I have restrained my feet from every evil way,
That I may keep Your word.
I have not departed from Your judgments,
For You Yourself have taught me.
How sweet are Your words to my taste,
Sweeter than honey to my mouth!
Through Your precepts I get understanding;
Therefore I hate every false way.– vs. 97-104 (NKJV)
When it comes to the important things of life – how to know and love God, how to love others – none of us has any clue. We don’t know which way to go. All natural paths lead straight to our own belly buttons, because we believe ourselves to be the center of the universe. How gracious of the Lord, then, to drop 66 books, written over centuries, across cultures and languages, into our laps. How kind of Him to say, “This is the way. Walk in it” (Isaiah 30:21).
We don’t have to be lost. We don’t have to panic. God is ever-near, speaking through the words on the thin pages or the smartphone screens. His Spirit breathes life into the ink and graces our minds with understanding. We don’t have to wander. We don’t have to attempt to cut our own path blindly in the darkness.
So, perhaps we should stop viewing the Bible as such a great burden. Perhaps we should learn to love and cherish it. Perhaps we should study it hungrily, eagerly.
Just a thought.
Stop.
