Meditations with Pastor Tom (5/28/20)

"All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that everyone who belongs to God may be proficient, equipped for every good work." ~  2 Timothy 3:16-17

            Have you ever met one of those Christians who has memorized gobs of the gospel?  When you get into a conversation about the faith, they can spout off scripture that supports anything they want to say.  They seem certain that they are right because they have the chapter and verse to prove it.  Does their impressive Bible knowledge impress you or make you want to walk away?

            For me, the answer can go both ways.  On the one hand, knowing the Word is certainly a good thing.  For us Christians, God is revealed through Jesus and through our sacred scripture.  So, if we are to live into the fullness of our faith, we must know what the Good Book says.  Besides, having an intimate grasp of the Bible can do much more than just give us knowledge.  It can give us inspiration, consolation, and direction.  

            On the other hand, sometimes these people spew scripture just to impress us. Sometimes, they seem to think that they possess THE correct interpretation of scripture just because they have words memorized that might apply to a given situation.  And worse, some of these people have done a great job of memorizing words and not such a great job of living the Word.

            Of course, I'd love to see every Christian have a great working knowledge of our Holy Book.  I'd love it if every Christian were intimately familiar with the gospel.  But given the choice between a person who can quote the gospel and a person who does the gospel, I'll take the person who lives it every time.

            That's why the answer goes both ways for me.  If a person doesn't seem to have a heart filled with Christ-like love, if s/he doesn't carry a sense of humility about interpretation, if s/he doesn't seem to live the gospel call to lift up all of God's children, no amount of memorization impresses me. 

            However, if it is clear the Word has truly penetrated the person's heart, if love and humility and kindness are what I notice first, if I can sense a true devotion to the least of these, then all that memorization is truly inspirational.  Remember, 2 Timothy says that all scripture is useful for lots of things, but the ultimate purpose is to equipped for every good work.

The Sermon this Sunday:

What is the purpose of Communion?