As I reflect on the place Scripture has had in my life and in the communities of faith I’ve been involved in, I come up with a wide spectrum of practices. I think back to my ordination exam and a phrase I used that grabbed one of the men sitting on the review board. I said: “I believe God’s Word is His love letter to the human race.” Some years later I still hold that to be a valid and telling statement of my view of Scripture. I think it has a significant bearing on what the place of Scripture should be in our communities of faith today.
I’ve seen Scriptures used as a doctrinal book to substantiate systems of theology; to take verses to show that God is leading one way or another; and, as a lab rat to be dissected and analyzed. Encouragement, empowerment, and exaltation have been ways that it has had a prominent effect in the communities of faith. One gentlemen I worked with referred to it as merely a history book and others have referred to it as a book of literature in the category of mythology. Communities have used it to guide their organizational procedures, to punish offenders of the book, as a template for doing church and on goes the list. Followers of Christ have been encouraged to have intimate time in the word, to memorize, meditate and master the Bible as a core part of the community of faith.
No mistake should be made many of these are viable ways of God’s Word having a place in the community of faith but many fall far short. I start this paper with the raw belief that Scripture is to be central in our communities of faith and that it is God’s inspired Word. What I want to wrestle with is HOW and to some degree WHY?
Let me share a handful of Scriptural verses that resonate in my heart as I prepare, verses that I memorized as a young man and which still impact me and ring in my soul to this day:
2 Timothy 3:16 & 17 – “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” Ps 119:11 – “I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.” Hebrews 4:12 – “For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” Joshua 1:8 – “Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.” 1 Timothy 4:13 – “Until I come, devote yourselves to the public reading of the Scripture, to preaching and to teaching.”
Acts 17:11 – The Bereans examined the Scripture to see if what Paul said was true…
The list could go on but as I look at these verses, they represent almost ever genre of Scripture. They help shape my thinking and action as I engage this Love Letter. It is given by God himself as He inspired people through the ages and saved it in written form for us today. He knows that our love, my love would be tested so he gave us His revelation and encouraged us to treasure it inside our hearts, minds and soul so that we wouldn’t be enticed to other lovers and so sin against Him, the greatest lover of all. This love letter is like no other love letter in that it isn’t just words on paper; it is alive and active somehow. Then again, if we were to go away from our lover for say a year and receive letters, they would also be very much alive I suppose. But, there is a uniqueness to the Scriptures in that it is also very penetrating and it will catch my tricky emotions and deceptions. It will expose me for who I am. It sounds odd to say it, but this is a good thing, a very good thing. Even more, when I’m really meditating on it often, like day and night, I begin to do what it says. There is a supernatural power to it that is changing me – I’m sure in concert with the Holy Spirit whom the lover has sent to be a constant presence and helper. Further, when I do what is written in it, I am prosperous and successful. That is never to be the reason for loving God or cherishing His revelation. Another unique thing about this love letter is that I’m supposed to share it, it isn’t just for me. I think if my wife would share love letters from our early days, I might be highly embarrassed. But we/I am to give it away and give public attention to it.
Most recently, having read John Eldridge’s book Waking the Dead, I am more convinced than ever about the need to guard our hearts. Prov. 4:23 says “Above all else, guard your heart for it is the wellspring of life.” Keeping Scripture at the center of our lives and treasuring it in our heart puts us well along the way of taking care of our hearts.
C.S. Lewis and the inspiration of Scripture
I was encouraged down this thought of a love letter as I read C.S. Lewis on Scripture by Michael J. Christensen. I gained a lot from reading this work which is an evaluation of Lewis’ position on Scripture. Lewis never considered himself a theologian and deferred such difficult subjects to theologians but he comes at it from a literary perspective which is helpful in many respects. While I don’t necessarily resonate with all the conclusions either Christensen or Lewis arrive at, I find some of the thoughts beneficial.
Lewis held Scriptures as “human literature, divinely inspired and authoritative, but not verbally inspired or without error.” (11) He viewed some parts as “more Inspired” than others. “The kind of truth we demand of Scripture, Lewis remarks in conclusion to this letter, ‘was, in my opinion, never even envisaged by the ancients.’” (19) It becomes difficult to tell where Lewis fit in the debate over Scripture. Liberals and conservatives alike had problems with his views. “Lewis is sometimes charged with being an occasional friend of higher criticism.” (34) “It makes little difference to Lewis whether the story of Ruth for example, is historical or not. ‘I’ve no reason to suppose it is not,’ he says. Either way, the truth of the story is inspired and acts on us as the Word of God. Nor does he have any theological difficulty in accepting Genesis as ‘Derived from earlier Semitic stories which were Pagan and mythical.’ But because the creation story has mythic qualities does not mean it is untrue. Myth can be truer than historical fact.” (34) “Lewis’ discovery of Christianity was plainly a rather momentous event for him. But he seems not to have been converted to a theological scheme at all, and he refused all his life to think that an understanding of Christianity would necessitate that he adopt an elaborate theology.” (41)
One area I was challenged to think differently in is the area of myth as Lewis talks about it. Myth as he defines it is “the primary mode of imagery, the highest form of symbolism.” (59) I think the word myth as understood by the common person today is that myth is not a true story but more of made up story or legend. He does not mean lie, error, illusion or misunderstood history. Lewis of course used myth quite extensively in his writing like the Chronicles of Narnia and “believes ‘we come nearest to experiencing as a concrete what can otherwise be understood only as an abstraction.’” (59) We find that to be true today as imagery inundates us from all sides and virtually becomes reality for us. We should not shy away from that but draw heavily from the imagery that God gives us in the Bible.
Who are the best teachers/preachers you’ve ever heard? For me they are the ones that make the imagery come alive and make me feel like I’m involved in the story. It usually isn’t usually the one who gives me four propositions to leave with. As Lewis looks at myth he doesn’t see it as falsehood and even distinguishes it from allegory. “Far from being less than true or factual, myth puts us in touch with Reality in a more intimate way than by knowing what is merely true or factual.” (61) “Reality is received through the imaginative embrace of pictorial patterns made romantically and spiritually real… the images evoked through myth register beneath the surface of the mind, allowing us to actually experience Reality and grasp eternal truths which might baffle the intellect and confuse the mind.” (64) In Lewis’ own writing, he allowed truth to unfold mythically. As we embrace this love letter in its fullness of truth I believe we would do well not to simply see it as propositional or objective truth (not to lose sight of it either), but to see it as great divinely inspired literature which comes alive (Heb 4:12).
“The heart of Christianity is a myth which is also a fact, Lewis insists … to be truly Christian, Lewis admonishes, we must both assent to the historical fact and also receive the myth (fact though it has become) with the same imaginative embrace we accord to all myths.” (pg 76) “It can be concluded at this point that Scripture for Lewis functions as myth, as well as historic fact.” (76) We mortals often suffer from an either/or mentality. This has been particularly evident in the rationalistic, reasoning, logical side of modernity. Is God not after all an imaginative and creative God?! Does God really want us to relegate Him or His revelation of Himself to proposition and systematic? Must it take away from the authority and inspiration of the Scripture if we allow the “myth” of Scripture to impregnate our minds? Yet, we must not remove some of the anchors that have been put in place by modernity. Can we not also benefit by studying from a systematic way? Does proposition and principle not come loudly through God’s Word at times? Have we not learned and experience much good in the Scriptures from the likes of Francis Schaefer and others. This should drive us to find a medium point rather than allowing the pendulum to swing the other direction. Strive to find the point of tension in this issue!
Scripture as Inspired Literature
“Lewis, though he never used the term, holds a literary view of inspiration. The Bible is inspired literature carrying a divine message. Human in its origin, biblical literature has been raised by God above itself, qualified by Him to serve purposes which of itself it would not have served.” (pg 90) Perhaps Lewis was very postmodern in his outlook when he “insists that the issue of inspiration is far less important than evangelicals often make it out to be. Our real task, Lewis would say, is not to focus on life’s “pointers” and “signposts” to God and His kingdom, but to get on with the journey at hand.” (91) Christenson uses Lewis for a case in point “that one can be a dedicated evangelical, accept the full authority of Scripture, yet disbelieve in inerrancy.” (91) Personally I get uncomfortable with tossing out inerrancy at this point but I think there is something to be said about some in the evangelical world making this out to be the whole point rather than preaching Christ.
I don’t want to be guilty of insinuating that Lewis did not hold a high view of Scripture for he did. He believed “the Holy Bible as we have it today, can be accepted as fully inspired, reliable and authoritative … The Bible is fundamentally a sacred book, and ‘demands incessantly to be taken on its own terms,’ says Lewis. ‘Stripped … of its divine authority, stripped of its allegorical senses, denied a romantic welcome,’ it cannot achieve its function.” (93)
This love letter has so much that inspires us and give us hope. We need only look a prophecy that has been fulfilled and those that are waiting to yet be fulfilled that we are perhaps right in the middle of. Scriptures give us hope that our creator, lover, and friend is coming back for us and will restore us to what he originally made us for – perfect and complete relationship with Him. Another detail that makes the love letter concept helpful to me; it’s about relationship, not a book.
We must keep in mind; God’s love letter is not confined solely to Scripture. He revealed Himself in Christ, He’s sent the Holy Spirit to indwell us, and He’s revealed himself in creation for which I am praising him especially today looking out at trees that are vibrant and alive with color. The hues of orange, yellow, red, brown and green are alive against the deep blue sky and bright sunshine. Wow, how God must love us to have revealed himself so magnificently to us!
Conclusion
I conclude where I started, the Bible is God’s love letter to us. Not a love letter conveyed in one systematic context but one that comes through a diversity of times, places, people, experiences and stories that make it so rich – something that MUST be treasured.
Some practical ways to cherish Scripture
Correction – restoration – I so often need restoration on my spiritual journey. Scriptures serve not only to correct me but to restore me and fill me up. In our grace oriented communities we must figure out how to allow Scripture to play a key part in the correction process of our communities thus keeping away from a primarily punitive approach. Treasure it in my heart and let it reverberate through my soul again and again. This takes time to really reflect and meditate even memorizing it so it sticks like glue. Allow the penetrating power of God’s Word to confront people where they need to be confronted. Don’t shy away where Scripture doesn’t shy away but do be creative and imaginative in presenting God’s Word. Lead people to appreciate the value of imagery used in The Bible. Somehow we move away from that when we get out of Sunday School and into the teen age years. All of a sudden the Bible becomes more objective, propositional, and something to be mastered rather than a story to find ourselves in or be engaged with. In public, use creative or dramatic readings, responsive readings, reflective readings, and congregational reading. Scripture comes alive through music and the church has only begun to tap this I believe. Lead people to examine Scriptures together and alone like the Bereans who were commended. It is a sad thing when people come to our church communities and only encounter the Scriptures on Sunday. Thought must be given to how we can provoke or stimulate each other to examine Scripture and probably more appropriately to let it examine us. Bible study is not bad though it seems we tend to shy away from that word these days.
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