God-Breathed

Read 2 Timothy 3:10-17.

I said on Sunday that I wish sometimes God would deliver his will for my life to my inbox each morning. (I checked, again no email from God today.) I would also take it if it came in the mailbox outside my house, but all that ever comes there are bills and advertisements. Or perhaps he could write it across the sky.

I'm reminded of a story about a farmer who was praying about God's will for his life, asking God to show him the way, and that day he looked up at the sky and say two clouds that formed the letters "P C." He thought, "That must be what God wants me to do!" And he pondered for a while what "P C" could stand for. He was pretty sure it wasn't "politically correct." Then it hit him: "Preach Christ!" That must be what "P C" stood for. So he sold everything he had, went to seminary and became a preacher.

His sermons were awful. People went to sleep when he spoke, and he found no one responding to his invitations. His church was struggling, but he was certain that God had told him through the clouds to "Preach Christ." So he kept at it. Finally, after many years of frustration (and not just his own!), the farmer turned back to God. "I'm doing what you told me to do!" he prayed. "Why is it so hard?" And, for the very first time in his life, the farmer heard God speak. "P C didn't mean 'Preach Christ.'" The farmer scratched his head. "Well, what did it mean, then?" he asked. And, once more, the booming voice said, "It meant 'Plant Corn.'"

Sometimes we make knowing God's will too difficult. As Paul reminded Timothy, God has given us direction through the preserved writings of his saints. We call it "Scripture" or the "Bible" (which means "a collection of books"). Sometimes we call it "God's Word," a phrase which probably comes right out of this passage, where Paul talks about Scripture being "God-breathed." Contrary to what some think, that phrase does not mean God dictated each and every word into the ears of those who wrote it down. What the phrase means in the original language is that God inspired these folks to write down the ways they had experienced him. Inspiration, not dictation. Some of them heard audible voices. Some, like Paul, were knocked off their horses so that God had their attention. But, like Jeremiah, they each had a message so strong and a guidance from God so powerful that they had to write it down, to make sure this revelation from God was not lost.

One tangential note: when Paul talks about Scripture, he's referring to what we know of as the Old Testament. I don't think it ever occurred to Paul that he was writing letters that would be included in the Bible. For sure, the New Testament was not even thought about when Paul wrote to young Timothy. But the early church, prodded and guided by the Holy Spirit, eventually did collect these 27 books and included them in Scripture, believing that they, too, were "God-breathed."

The challenge to us in the twenty-first century, of course, is that we have to interpret these words. The last book in the Bible having been written some 1900 years ago, there is a lot of history and change that has happened since then. There is also a lot of "their" time reflected in the pages. But if we believe these words are "God-breathed" (as we do) and if we believe that God still speaks and whispers through these pages (and we do), then it's well worth the work it takes to understand God's word not just for the people then but for us now. Prayer, study of the Scriptures (not just reading a passage quickly to check it off the list) and submitting ourselves to the teaching of a good Bible teacher are all vital parts in interpreting and understanding these "God-breathed" books.

Then, we'll be able to begin to find God's will for us. His good, pleasing and perfect will.

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