Monday, November 26, 2012

Active Spirituality

I am in the middle of reading the book Multiply by Francis Chan. While my review of this book won't be posted for a few weeks yet, I stumbled across something that provided me with kind of an "oh, wow" moment. I was so moved by this idea that I wanted to share it with you.

Verses 9-14 in 1 Cor. 2 suggests that none of us can properly understand the Bible (God's word) without the presence of the Holy Spirit. Verse 11 states, "So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God." Thus studying, interpreting, and understanding the Bible is not necessarily correlated with being intelligent or learned or "spiritual". The cool thing is that this tells us what we get out of reading the Bible is not just a passive message. It tells us that the Bible is alive and active. It means that the Bible is totally personal for each of us.

So that I don't lead folks astray, it is critical to make clear that the Biblical text has only one meaning, lest any of us attempt to twist the content to fit our own point of view or preferences. But with the Holy Spirit's leading, the truths in terms of application that each of us individually receive from reading the Bible may be different. In fact, the truth that we receive may be different each time that we humbly and prayerfully approach a given piece of scripture. It's like the Holy Spirit may lead us down a different path each time. That is, in my mind, the epitomy of active spirituality. It is how God can come alive to us as we approach His Word. It should serve as motivation for diving into the Word regularly.