Snippets
Snippets. Recollections of one’s life is never an exhaustive treatise involving many volumes stacked high and wide on library shelves. No. By the time we come to an age where reminiscing is a daily muse, it is often a challenging exercise for our brains to remember fluff and stuff.
Knowing this fact of life, very early on the oral traditions of the faithful elders who had awe and reverence for God recognized the importance of writing the stories down for posterity. That is how the Bible began to be written.
Snippets. “A small part, piece, or thing” says Merriam/Webster. The Bible is not an exhaustive history. It is the essence of God’s revelation to Humanity. It contains the nourishing grains of Truth which we can plant in our souls and that will eventually grow into a bountiful harvest. It has nuggets of gold, wisdom contained in its verses which we can abide by and which will safeguard our hearts and minds …
Unfortunately, many do not relish reading mysteries where the reader has to fill in the gaps to solve the puzzle. Others do not bother with historical books. Others cannot be bothered with morality plays and parables, or philosophies and fables. We become content with ourselves and in pragmatic stoicism reject changes to our personal status quo.
Snippets. Scraps of the morsels that fall from Jesus’ table. A man named John grew very close to Jesus. One of his letters to Believers begins with this: “We proclaim to you the one who existed from the beginning, whom we have heard and seen. We saw him with our own eyes and touched him with our own hands…” and John continued, “…We proclaim to you what we ourselves have actually seen and heard so that you may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. We are writing these things so that you may fully share our joy.”
Snippets. John’s Gospel writing about his experience with Jesus ends with this: “Jesus also did many other things. If they were all written down, I suppose the whole world could not contain the books that would be written.” — John 21:25, NLT
Yet, we cannot see the value in reading the books and letters contained within the bindings of the Bible. We see no particular value in them any more than what is in Aesop’s Fables. We resist. We protest.
We prevaricate, deviating from the truth that confronts us: “For everyone has sinned {done harmful things}; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard {our arrows completely miss the mark}.” — Romans 3:23, NLT
We equivocate to avoid committing ourselves to what the Bible is revealing: “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.” — John 3:16, NLT We reject the Bible to our own detriment. When we reject the Bible, we reject God, Creator of Heaven and Earth as well as you and me.
Solomon, a king in Israel, associated as being the wisest of the wise, ended his writing of the Book of Ecclesiastes: “That’s the whole story. Here now is my final conclusion: Fear {revere} God and obey his commands, for this is everyone’s duty.” — Ecclesiastes 12:13, NLT
“Since we respected our earthly fathers who disciplined us, shouldn’t we submit even more to the discipline of the Father of our spirits, and live forever?” — Hebrews 12:9(a), NLT
What I am attempting to emphasize here is that God has a wonderful plan for us, if we would only accept His provision for saving ourselves from ourselves: Jesus.
“But everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” — Acts 2:21, NLT
“He is the Word of life. This one who is life itself was revealed to us, and we have seen him. And now we testify and proclaim to you that he is the one who is eternal life. He was with the Father, and then he was revealed to us.”
Snippets. Perhaps that is all we have been given to work with.
Persist. A little effort goes a long way. It is not unlike putting the pieces of a child’s puzzle together. Too easy for such awesome results? Beneath our dignity?
“Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” — Matthew 11:29, NLT
Finally, I understand people’s resistance. I have had my own. However, my assessment is that it is an individual’s false pride that holds us back. Or, another factor might be that people are buried in a lot of religious falsehoods. Or, maybe they are too preoccupied with the cares of this life, everyday worries, the daily grind of simply trudging through until “couch time.”
Why do people refuse to taste a different cuisine? Same kind of mindset I think. Or the business mind that sees no profit in pursuing a spiritual avenue. But what is spiritual anyway?
Beauty is spiritual. Love is spiritual. Who we are is spiritual and we who have been given a name attached to that spirit, our souls if you prefer. Even lowly animals who show caring and dedication, even to other species — that is spirituality. Those things are all spiritual. They are real. “Spiritual” as perceived in the Bible is a very “meat and potatoes” dynamic in life. It isn’t some mystical, ethereal, far out, somewhere unreachable deep within our own minds or the Universe. Rather, “… what does it {faith} say? ‘The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,’ that is, the message concerning faith that we proclaim: If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. As Scripture says, ‘Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.’ For there is no difference… — the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, ‘Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’”
Perhaps I have used too many Bible quotes. Maybe I have used too many of my own words. Maybe people are sick and tired of “Bible thumpers,” thinking we are “too judgmental.”
Using good judgment has nothing to do with other people’s lives. It is realizing everything is going sideways — both in the world and within ourselves — and we cannot control it — no matter how hard we try or how different we wish it to be.
“Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” Where does this confidence and assurance come from? Are we nincompoops who do not have any good judgment? No sense at all? Or have we found something solid? Or have Believers received something real that has been experienced in astounding ways? Have we been given proof establishing our confidence and assurance?
Well, yes. We have. We haven’t just fallen off the turnip truck. True faith is a verb, not a noun. Faith requires thoughtfulness and consideration in the realm of reality.
A High School friend of mine has done a lot of traveling and shares many photos of exotic and beautiful places he and his family have visited. “Wish you were here,” Basically speaking. Often, I wish I was there. (Jealousy will get me nowhere.) I learned a lot from my travels. However, my traveling days are over, and I have to experience others in absentia. I can still learn from them. Snippets.
“Taste and see that the Lord is good. Oh, the joys of those who take refuge in him!” — Psalm 34:8, NLT
