Category: Bible (Page 4 of 394)

I was taught in high school and college to keep my sentences short. Since then I’ve read a number of books about writing (always trying to improve), and all offer the same advice. Among other things, a reader processes short sentences better, thus making complex ideas simpler to follow.

But the Apostle Paul, the most prolific of Biblical authors, spurned such advice. He preferred the comma over the period. Check out this one sentence from his letter to the Ephesians:

For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.

I hate to critique the most-read author who ever lived, but Paul’s style makes it hard to follow his complex thoughts. Following his argument is like peering into a deep pool, the bottom undefined, or as Paul himself put it, looking into a mirror dimly.

But when I take my time and break down this dizzying sentence, beauty emerges. Paul prays that we may experience the wisdom and power of our Lord Jesus Christ. God called us to riches beyond our imagining, and Paul prays that the eyes of our hearts will light up with this knowledge.

What I appreciate about Paul’s style is how it draws me into truth. I want to gaze into that pool, to dive into his teachings. The wisdom of God and the power of Jesus indeed exist. It takes unhurried thought and to be honest, hard work to mull it all over. But within this long glorious sentence lies the spark to set our hearts afire.

Ephesians 1:15-21

Photo by Zhuo Cheng you

I read a troubling statistic recently. While plenty of teenagers goof around with AI companions, one-third of teens use a chatbot as a replacement for human conversation about serious matters. Many teens find these bots appealing due to their constant availability (they never sleep) and lack of judgmental attitudes.

Contrast this practice with Paul’s encouragement to the believers in Galatia: Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. Is there a more pertinent command for our society in all of Scripture?

People live in ever-increasing isolation, in self-contained bubbles where an online avatar substitutes for relationships with living people. Small wonder suicides rates have climbed since the advent of smart phones. What do we do about it? Bear one another’s burdens.

An AI chatbot won’t carry your load. An algorithm won’t draw you in for a much needed hug or offer you a heartfelt prayer. We need real people. We need each other.

Encourage connection wherever possible. Promote going to church, where living, breathing people sing and learn and talk and pray and visit. This ancient practice holds tremendous promise for today’s ills. Gather with like-minded believers—our fellow burden-bearers.

Look around, say hello to people, ask if that person needs help with their groceries. Offer to pray for your restaurant server (my wife does this). Provide human connection. Do unto others as you would have done unto you. Bear someone’s burden, and you’ll soon find someone bearing yours as well.

Galatians 6:2

Photo by kuu akura

Does God see us in our distress? Sure doesn’t feel like it. Everyone who ever contemplated God wonders where he is sometimes. This question courses through the Bible, expressed by David in his psalms and by the children of Israel as they wandered in the wilderness. Most tellingly Job, the oldest book in the Bible, centers around this theme—God do you know what’s happening to me? Do you care?

The Egyptian kings worried about the people of Israel who lived among them as their population swelled. So the kings put them to forced labor, and began an organized slaughter of Jewish baby boys. In the midst of such brutality, the people cried out for salvation.

Their cry for rescue from slavery came up to God. And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. God saw the people of Israel—and God knew.

God knew. What a stunning reality. The God of the universe understood their plight, and in these words we see the promise of action to come. God remembered his earlier promises (as if God ever forgot), and knew the time to move had arrived.

God waited for the right leader (Moses), the right villain (Pharaoh), and the right people fed up enough to leave the only home they ever had to set off through the wilderness for a promised but unseen land inhabited by enemies bent on their destruction. God knew the time was right.

I think I know when the time is right, but God doesn’t always agree. When I complain about God not paying attention, stories like this one helps me perceive that God will act, albeit on his schedule. Despite my angst, I rest assured in that fact that the Lord sees and the Lord knows.

Exodus 2:23-25

Photo by Marco Grosso

Land ownership has long been enshrined in law. In our neighborhood, if you look carefully, you can find pins in the sidewalk showing where lines divide the lots. I mow on my side, my neighbor mows on his. Occasionally I mow some of his and he mows some of mine, as good neighbors sometimes do. But I don’t dig up his shrubs. Those are on his property and out of bounds for my design purposes.

Nations launch wars over territory, and current negotiations over a large, icy landmass dominant the headlines. Land is power, and they ain’t making any more of it, as speculators like to say.

So it helps to remember who actually owns all the land surrounding us. David wrote in the Psalms: The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein, for he has founded it upon the seas and established it upon the rivers.

God created this earth and owns it still. We are guests upon his planet. I never set foot on a place that is not the Lord’s. I never meet a person who does not belong to God, whether a committed atheist or a humble saint. All our property, all our goods, all our stuff, all our bodies, minds and souls belong to God.

Because the Creator owns his creation.

Psalm 24:1-2

Photo by The New York Public Library