Maybe not

Culture is so interesting! Basically it tells us how to think and respond. So in a particular situation, our reponse will be boxed in by how we have been (silently) taught to respond. This is true even in our study of the Bible.

As people with a Western worldview (culture), we read the Bible and draw conclusions on its meaning, through the lens of our culture. We often come to a particular passage and kind of "bleep" over it, because we already know what happens and what it means. But in so doing, we often miss a whole plethora of other good things hidden under the surface words. We must mine deep to unearth new precious ores God has placed there for those willing to spend the time and effort to get to them. I find it sad when people stop the process and don't go deep enough to discover new things, because they already know what it says.

This discovery came to me when we went to Israel many years ago. It was a study trip, so evenings were often taken with classes and lectures. One of our teachers taught us about the biblical culture and how it changed much of the meaning of the story of the prodigal son. Well, not so much changed it, rather opened up whole new areas of understanding what was going on! I was amazed! I had never seen so much in that passage- mostly because I was already taught what it meant and didn't look any closer. Or look at it through the eyes of another culture.

When studying the Bible, we must be willing to drop what we think we know about the passage (at least temorarily) and go exploring with the Holy Spirit. If we open ourselves, he often leads us to hidden manna- life-giving truth that can change our lives. After all the "chewing," maybe we will find ourselves right back where we started. Maybe not. Oh how I love those "maybe nots!"

Don't let yourself get bogged down in your understanding of scripture. The longer you look, the more you will find!