So, as a trend in my life and consequently my writing, I can be serious. Go straight to the high dive and never take the time to float out in friendship’s freedom. That being said, I want to try to take a more vulnerable, less cognitive, approach with writing. I am fully aware this won’t be some radical change in writing but it will be in my mind and hand when trying to convey…me. If anything, out of all I write to you and to myself, I want you to see me through this journey and God’s full blown glory on display. With that, here is something that I have struggled with during my time here in Asia.
– (Hey, I am in Myanmar now!)
– (I wrote this snippet after the blog so I help this better gives you handle on my current place in life 🙂
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These are my thoughts and struggles in the recent week with how to interpret and correctly assume God’s Word. We were given the Word of God. We were given Jesus Christ, who was in the beginning and was with God and was God. (John 1:1) For those of us that believe the Bible is God-breathed, then it was given for our most careful and critical care. If it truly is where all beautiful, lovely, joyful, and Truthful things in this life originate from, then it is to be my favorite objective. -How can the joy of life not be directly connected to that which gives it, the Word? -When reading the Bible tastes like cardboard…is it my ill-will in trying to read it or lack of subjection to the Holy Spirit?
To start, reading the Bible has been changing my life. I have the felt the simplistic charm of the Gospels while I have only taken my eyes to the page and left analyses behind. I am beginning to see more the life of Jesus and those around Him. I see more and more the arch of His character that spans from eternity to cross to comeback. Nevertheless, the feeling of not wanting to read has still rested on me. But it has began to wade* and my interest has grown. That is the Holy Spirit working within me and all I have done is read the Gospels (and I’m not even done). However, to take a step past reading the Bible and relying on the Holy Spirit’s perfect vision, what about preaching?
What about what I think and my ideas? This is where exegesis and eisegesis comes into the picture. (And what do they even mean?)
Basically…
Exegesis – Attempt to understand the meaning of the text objectively. Means to “draw out” in the Greek
Eisegesis – To import a desired meaning into or onto the text. For instance, to have an idea and justify it through conjoining scripture to prove it. This can mean using scripture to justify religion, tradition, ideas, or really anything.
Exegetical interpretation of scripture means there is no room for implied or desired ideas that may arise. By this, I mean in the interpretation of Scripture specifically and not in all outworkings of life. On the other hand, eisegesis allows for there to be a wealth of man made ideas and a flexible scripture. Both are practiced today and it is the implications of the desired formats that I believe demand each believer to see how they read scripture. Those implications I believe of rooted in what we believe about the Bible and that’s what has been my struggle.
If I truly believe that God brought down Jesus Christ as the Word, tangible and perfect, then I must see the writer, setting, purpose, and context of Scripture as vital to knowing God. That is what rests so heavily on my shoulders. God wrote about God through His Holy Spirit by the pen of man so many years ago. That’s the reality in which I believe and read from today. He created, through His creation, the greatest story ever. The greatest story of redemption and hero that began with time and will end with it. God brought into reality Himself through Words, which are living. These is something to sit and think about. And that’s what I have done. I have worked through this and weighed my idea’s over and over again. The beautiful truth in it all is that the most Truthful ideas and inspiration lie in Scripture. The ideas that move us and push us every day are there in scripture. Now, I have to perspective to see them and base my life upon them. So what is He calling you to live in? For me, its letting the Holy Spirit give me life through reading it as an inspired word. I can now read the Bible as God’s gift to me as well.
It no longer is me and my consistent ideas and conventions, its God’s. I hope this has captured my heart this week.
Thanks. Will
