Seeing the Bible Differently is Needed and Necessary

We were all born with poor eye sight for seeing the unseen God. Seeing the Bible differently as we grow in Him is super valuable when we can.

In 1991 reading Inside Out, I suddenly realized that my family upbringing had caused me to not see that the Bible had emotion. (I now see the Bible has emotion all around)

Seeing the Bible Differently is Super Necessary

Gradually, I came to see that it was imposssible to see the Bible objectively.  This was a waterfall event for me. Going forward, I had to carry doubt in my understanding knowing that I always read the Bible subjectively. See also Christians and Bias.

Given that we are subjective, we all need to have some humility. The main things are clear or should be.

We Are Saved as Martin Luther Saw Differently

The Catholic Church in Luther’s day taught Martin Luther to read Romans 1:17 as meaning people who lived righteously could live by faith. See what it says.

For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last,^[a] just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”

Martin said suddenly he could see we are made rigtheous by faith. Revelation is certainly precious for this reason among many others. He said after that that he made discovery after discovery backing up that we are saved by faith. My discovery that the Bible had emotion also led to discovery after discovery.

We Need To Grow and See Better Too

As my marriage and kids matured, it became apparent that I still needed more work on knowing my emotions and knowing others in the intimacy of a family.

So last week, reading 2 Corinthians 7:1

7 Therefore, since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God.

I have always read this passage thinking to discipline my behavior and speech yet more.

Suddenly, I could see that first I had to release my emotions thus finding out what I felt deep within me. In this way, I could find my true sin rather than it lie hidden and come out unexpectedly here and there in my family. (usually via passive aggressive behavior)

To purify, we must let the bad stuff come out it the moment which could be in the form of anger, disappointment, loneliness, and many more. Some of these could violate a command to not get angry quickly for example. However, we can say we are sorry to the person if we are out of line and to God if we crossed a line.

Moreover, by being real with our emotions we are moving toward a better future of glorifying God and being the people he asks us to be.

So, the Bible is a living book to us as we keep growing as people and thus are able to read it like it was brand new. Our goal needs to be to keep growing, so we can see it with new eyes.