Today I was reading Romans 11-13 for the Bible reading plan I've been following and I really enjoyed chapter 12. You wanna know why? It is so clear and to the point. It's basically a list of do's and don'ts. For instance, verses 10-11 says, "Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord." I can go through this chapter and check off the ones I do and circle the ones I need to work on. Not all scripture, however, is this clear and to the point. Other places in the Bible require you to read it multiple times and maybe even push you to ask your pastor about what it truly means. I think God did this on purpose.
The past few months I've been focusing on this type of scripture. I've wanted to figure out why this one chapter says this and why the other chapter says that. I've had a lot of questions and I've studied different translations and even the Hebrew and Greek origins, hoping I would figure out what God is saying. These questions have really instilled a hunger to read and learn more of God's word...which is great! On the other hand, I realized that I came to the point where it wasn't a healthy hunger, but it was more of an obsessive search to know all the answers.
Thankfully, God reminded me that I'm not training to be Him and to know all the answers. I don't need to know all the answers. Yes, the Bible is truth, but I realized that maybe I'm not supposed to completely understand this topic at this point in my life and maybe I never will. I was reminded that this is where faith comes in. Maybe I don't know every answer to every theological question, but that's okay because I have faith in God. Questions are great because they can create a healthy hunger in us, but there comes a point where we have to say, "Okay, God, I don't really need to know all the answers. All I really need to know is that you sent your son, Jesus, to die for my sins and that my purpose of living is to serve and praise You."
Do you struggle with this?
So I'm thankful for the scripture that is clear and to the point, but I'm also thankful for the scripture that forces me to practice my faith in God.
Today's scripture was Romans 11-13 and tomorrow's scripture is Romans 14-16.
Please don't forget to pray for Alisa, Jaime, and baby London! If you don't know their story, check it out here.
