A Lot to Learn

Several years ago one of the members of a Bible study I was teaching made a comment that I may never forget; but before I tell you what he said, let me tell you a little about him.

He was a dentist in the small town where we lived. He was married and had two children who were both active in the church’s youth program. He sang in the choir and served on a committee or two in the church. He was also active in the local chapter of a men’s service organization.

One evening about halfway through the thirteen-week course he shared this comment: “I just have to admit that there has been something that has puzzled me for a long time. I mean I see people in their sixties and seventies carrying their Bibles to Sunday School class and I think, ‘Well, it’s a big book, but it’s not that big. Don’t they know what it says yet?’”

It was a real breakthrough moment for him. Up to that point he had considered the Bible to be one of the many books in the world. He had studied lots of textbooks and still read scores of journal articles to practice his profession. He kept up with news and sports and encouraged his children to be good students (which they were); but somehow the Bible had remained just another book to him.

Accepting the free gift of grace God offers us through Jesus Christ is essential to becoming a person of faith. “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9). Nevertheless, Jesus told his followers there was more to making disciples than just initiating them into the movement. “Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you” (Matthew 28:20).

The world is a complex and confusing place in which to live. New issues seem to arise daily and many of the enduring problems we face seem to defy all solutions. While it may not have the answer to which cell phone provider you should choose or when you should refinance your house, the Bible does have much to say about the most important issues of life: how we should order our priorities, the standards by which we should evaluate our relationships, the responsibilities we have for one another and for the world.

Here’s the truth: The Bible is a big book, not that big; but big enough to hold the answers to many of your deepest questions—if you will take the time listen to all that God has to say to you through it.

60 Seconds

“If your house was on fire and you had 60 seconds, what would you take?” That is the question that Declan O'Callaghan asks Anna Brady in the movie, Leap Year, as they are waiting for the train to Dublin. Anna has traveled from New York to surprise her boyfriend, Dr. Jeremy Sloane, after her father reminds her of the Irish tradition that a man who receives a marriage proposal on a leap day must accept it. With a successful career and the prospect of a prestigious address, Anna is convinced that this marriage will be the fulfillment of all her dreams. Still she has no answer to Declan’s question. She really can’t come up with an answer to what she values most; but the question lingers in her mind.

Once she finally reaches Dublin, she is the one who is surprised when Jeremy proposes to her. A few days later while they are getting ready to host an engagement party in their new condominium, Jeremy tells Anna about a call he got from the president of the condo association while they were in Ireland. During the call he thought it would improve their chances of making the purchase if he told the woman that they were engaged to be married. Declan’s question springs to mind.

While their guests are enjoying the party, Anna steps out into the hall and pulls the fire alarm. She helps her guests find their way to the stairs and then goes back in to watch as Jeremy rushes to grab all his electronic devices before heading out. In the next scene, Anna is back in Ireland. She tells Declan, “When my 60 seconds came around I realized I had everything I ever wanted; but nothing I really needed.”

What is important to you? What do you get enthusiastic or excited about? Most people answer these questions by talking about friends, family, sports, music, or movies. They may tell you about their work or some cause they are working on. Rarely will someone mention their religious beliefs, experiences, or practices.

As Paul closes his first letter to the Corinthians, he reminds them, “I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me. Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said” (15:3).  As we work together to think clearly about the truth, it is crucial that we understand what is most important so that our lives are not so full of the things we want, that we have no place for what we need.

Three in One

Controversy is nothing new to the church. Within a few weeks of Peter’s first sermon, the disciples had to deal with a group who was concerned that “their people” were not receiving the attention they deserved. Soon after that, Peter is invited to the home of Cornelius, a Gentile—someone he had been taught was “unclean.” When Peter returned to Jerusalem, he knew he had some explaining to do. Much of the Book of the Acts of the Apostles recounts the way the early community of faith dealt with one controversy after another.

When you read the letters of Paul, Peter, James and John (and even the short letter of Jude), it is not too difficult to imagine some of the controversies they were trying to address. There were procedural questions and doctrinal issues and interpersonal conflicts. One important principle runs through all of this discourse. Paul puts it this way: “Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone” (Romans 12:18).

Still as the church grew and became more diverse, it struggled with a variety of issues. Interestingly, some of the earliest and most passionate disputes grew out of the different ways people tried to explain the nature of God. Great controversies arose around conversations about God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

Constantine was the first Roman emperor to convert to Christianity. About a decade after he made religious tolerance the policy throughout the Roman Empire, he authorized the leaders of the church to convene in Nicaea (at public expense) to address the most divisive controversies of the day. From these discussions arose the classical doctrine of the Trinity: God is understood as “one substance,” but “three persons.”

While the Council of Nicaea was able to hammer out a consensus about the way the church would talk about God; it could not fully explain the character and substance of God’s relationship with those he loves. So we continue to struggle with ways to describe the nature of God.

Perhaps we would be better served by focusing on our experience of God. Perhaps we should meditate on the ways God reveals himself to his people. Perhaps then we can come to a more helpful understanding of our God who has revealed himself in a threefold way—Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer; but who has always revealed himself as the one, complete, perfect, undivided God.