For the past year or so, Janet and I have dedicated ourselves to working on jigsaw puzzles. To start with, they are great entertainment and doctors have made it clear that focusing on how the pieces all fit together stimulates our brains and helps to keep us sharp. Having worked on a fairly large number of puzzles, I have come to agree with their assessment. So does Janet.
We started out with 300 piece puzzles that had large pieces that are easier to work with for Janet and her arthritis. We then upped our game to 500 piece puzzles and, having mastered a number of them, we graduated to 750 pieces. That’s when we hit the proverbial wall… It just seemed a little overwhelming to Janet and we actually got so frustrated that we stopped working on one and returned it to the box. Maybe someday, we will try it again but, for now, it’s just too complicated for us.
Janet and I have both found the mental exercise a good one to keep up our cognitive abilities. Sure, we enjoy the finished product, but it almost seems anticlimactic. We relish the idea of figuring out how things go together and and we also love spending time together.
I can’t help but be reminded of how much the study of the Bible is similar to the puzzles we put together. The first time we open a Bible, the anticipation is great but the reality is more difficult than we imagined. Assuming that we are Christ followers, we are aided in our understanding of the Scripture by the illumination of the Holy Spirit and the more we mature, the greater our understanding becomes. In other words, we become more enlightened as we begin to understand how the pieces fit together.
There are many different types of theology that help connect the sections of the Bible. Character theology has to do with identifying with a specific person in the Bible. Then, people build a construct around that character and read the Scripture from a skewed perspective. It’s not really a great way to get started understanding the Word of God. Then, there is prosperity theology. This has to do with the belief that God wants us to be wealthy and if we are in the will of God, we will be handsomely rewarded. Unfortunately, there is nothing in the pages of the Scripture that support this position. God wants us to be holy – not doing things for financial blessings. But those who follow prosperity theology are convinced that material wealth is a “given” and God can’t wait to heap abundant wealth on us! Show me where that appears in the Scripture!
Biblical theology and systematic theology are several of the more mainstream types of biblical study. These have to do with studying themes within the Bible; such as angels, demons, the Trinity, salvation doctrine, the study of God, Christ and the Holy Spirit. They also include the study of the church, prophecy, eschatology (the study of the end times – think Revelation) and a number of different Scriptural subjects that help us connect the various parts of both the Old and New Testaments. When I was in seminary, the only discipline we didn’t study was the area of Apologetics. This is the defense of the Bible and we were taught that God does quite a fine job of defending Himself and this wasn’t necessary for us to study.
It is important to understand that the more we study the Bible, the more the pieces of the Scripture fit together like a giant jigsaw puzzle. The more adept we get, the more the Holy Spirit will illuminate and guide us through its pages. Eventually, sections of the Bible fit in ways that were never obvious to us in the beginning of our studies. That’s one of the many amazing things about the Bible – how its sections fit seamlessly together to give us a broader perspective of the entire Bible.
Our verse for tonight is from Peter’s second epistle. Peter tells us about prophets and God in 2 Peter 1:20-21, when he reminds us, “Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation. For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.”
This important verse affirms that the Bible was inspired by God and prophets represented God to the people. We are clearly told that the words of Scripture and the prophecies spoken were originated by God and delivered by human ambassadors of our Lord. God had a distinct plan for us to follow and the Holy Spirit still helps us understand the commands of God.
My encouragement this evening is that God is still active in our lives on a daily basis. He walks beside us every step of the way. My prayer is that we will all realize that as we mature, the pieces of this divine puzzle come together to help us see the picture of God’s kingdom in all its glory. It’s worth our time to study and invest in understanding more complex themes within the pages of God’s Word. But take your time… we have an eternity to learn how all the pieces fit together. Have a great day in the Lord, grace and peace…