Back to the Word of God

My original title for this post was More ramblings of a God-hunted man, but as the title should indicate what the topic is, I've changed it. So if you read it under its old title, don't bother reading it again… Go read your Bible instead!

This evening I had to choose between a bike ride and reading my Greek New Testament. Since I read the Greek NT out loud, and because I can't ride my bike and read at the same time, well, I chose the bible reading—with a difference—I took my Greek NT and went for a long walk up Mount Tabor.

I've been reading Revelation, ‘Í Apokálypsis tou Yisoú Christoú,’ out loud for the past three evenings. First evening, I sat on my front patio at night, and I got as far as half-way through chapter 11 (The Two Witnesses), and then my brain just crashed. Not bad for a first try. (I'd never attempted to read a NT book in Greek cover to cover, out loud.)

Second evening, I read just a little bit, up through the letters to the seven churches. Then I grabbed chapters 21 and 22, and read till the end. Not very ambitious.

Tonight, starting at about 8:15, I took up my copy of ‘Í Aghía Grafí’ the Holy Scriptures, started walking up Taylor Court towards the entrance to the park, and started reading right then and there, at chapter 1 verse 1 of Revelation. It was all uphill physically, but the Greek is starting to just roll off my tongue, and the best part, I understand most of what I am reading, without translating.

When I got up to the second reservoir, I found out that the paved roads of mountain were being used as a race course for bicycles, so instead of walking any further, I continued reading, standing off the road overlooking the sunset over the city below. Then I sat on the steps of the pump house and read there, out loud, till my legs started falling asleep. I finished the reading up through chapter 15 about 9:45, standing against a lamp post, and then I walked home.

Each time I read, I get more fluent and I understand more and more. Tonight I had one passer-by ask me what I was reading, and in what language. The door was not open for overt witnessing, however, but at least the man knew what I was doing.

The more time I spend with the Word of God, in plain English and even in Greek, the more I am convinced of the truth that “the anointing He gave teaches you everything” (1 John 2:27 JB). I am not dismissing the tradition of the Church as contained in the holy fathers, the seven councils, and so on. Where would we be without them? But once a person has given his or her life to the Lord Jesus Christ and accepted Him as Lord and Master, everything falls into place, if the Word of God is read, studied, believed and put into practice. Even if one didn't start out by going to church, by the time one got to the verse that says, “don't stay away from the assemblies of the believers, especially as you see the Day drawing near”, it would be obvious, “hey! wait a minute! shouldn't I be going to church, or something?” This may sound simplistic, and naive, but sorry, it is not. And this is how the Lord leads us, if we are faithful and want to be saved, really want to follow His call. There is no conflict with the church, not even with the ‘institutional’ church—that is, if you follow the call of Christ first, and then join a church. I don't believe in ‘christianizing’ someone, proselytizing them, making them a ‘church member’ first, and then hoping they'll hear the call—they might, but sometimes they don't.

Back to the Word of God… I have gotten disillusioned reading some of the blogs of fellow Xtians out there. They really do seem to enjoy spouting off about how passionate they are and all, that they don't know how to live a Christian life with passion and the feeling of fulfillment, and so on. As long as their Christian life consists of appliqués, they're stuck with an unreal version of Christianity.
What does it mean to know the Lord Jesus Christ, to be known by Him, and to accept the life of salvation, His free gift to us?
One answer is, ‘Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy strength, and with all thy mind, and thy neighbor as thyself.’
Another answer is, ‘Seek first the Kingdom of God, and His righteousness.’
And yet another, ‘Anyone who saves his life will lose it, and anyone who loses his life for my sake and the gospel's will save it unto life eternal.’
I'm quoting all these from memory, and I am not going to impress anyone with citing book, chapter and verse. If you want to know, use Bible Gateway, the link is in my blog's side panel.

Back to the Word of God… We don't read the bible at the end of the day to relax, or when we feel like it, or when it is convenient. We read the Word of God, we study it, we feed on it, we sleep on it, we wake with it on our lips, we model our thoughts and speech on it, we let it form us because we don't have a ‘time to read the bible’, but we have the Word of God with us always. It never leaves our hand, heart or head.
How is this possible?
Do we carry the book around with us all the time?
Well, yes, almost all the time. But because we don't have the book with us physically all the time, from the times when it is with us, when we are reading and studying it, we have it, because we have internalized it, not perfectly, but essentially:
“The Word is very near to you. It is in your mouth and in your heart for your observance.” (Deuteronomy 30:14 Jerusalem Bible)
We cannot complain that the Word is incomprehensible or hard to understand or apply, because by our constant self-exposure to the Word of God, alone and with our co-disciples, we are taught everything by the Holy Spirit. It is when people read the bible as another book, when they consider the Word of God some ‘thing’ outside themselves, outside their intimate private lives, instead of the inevitable core of their being, that's when they complain of not understanding, of needing human teachers, of seminars and programs. Stop! I am not saying that we can't learn from others, but the best bible teaching comes from the close fellowship between two or three disciples who know, trust and love each other, and who exalt the Word of God, Jesus Christ, who is among them.

Back to the Word of God… We will never stop learning when we read and read again the Word of God, yes, the Holy Scriptures, the Old and New Testaments. Like my son Jacob hinted, “I think I will be learning Greek for the rest of my life!” That's how he announced, tacitly, that he wanted to put a life of service to God and God's people first. This life is not just for the ordained clergy, for pastors, priests and presbyters. This is primarily for us, the ‘laós toú Theoú’ the people of God. If you want a life in Christ, not just talk about wanting it, then you've got to…

“…make My Word your home. [Then] you will indeed be My disciples.”
(John 8:31)