A Question to Ask when You're stuck (on a passage)

There are a lot of difficult passages in the bible. Some of those passages are difficult because they are so far removed from our world today that the actions taken don’t make sense to us. Others are difficult because they are confusing or dense, with lots of names, numbers, and places listed that we have no reference for. Still, others are difficult because the language is flowy, fluttery, poetic language (or some other genre that we aren’t used to reading).

So what do we do when we come across a particularly difficult passage?

Well, there are plenty of strategies out there for you. The most thorough would be to look at a commentary (from those oh-so-important scholars) to discover what is going on. But, if you aren’t interested in a commentary (and honestly, sometimes when I'm just reading the bible I don’t want to use one) there is a question that I think can really help to get to the

root message of the passage.

And that question is this:

“What does this scripture tell me about the character of God?”

All scripture is divinely inspired, it is God’s way of communicating with us. So you’d better believe that there are all sorts of clues in there that help us to see more clearly who God is.

Now it’s not all detective work. Very early in the bible, like in the 2nd book (Exodus) God shares about who he is:

What do we learn about who God is from his description of himself?

There is a lot in there, and depending on the faith tradition you grew up with, there are probably some parts that resonate with what you’ve been taught about God, but there might also be some parts that are challenging to your notion of God.

A lot of the people I connect with, love verse 6 (which ends at “faithfulness”). It makes sense. When Christians think of God, they think of Jesus and most of the way Jesus is taught about and spoken of in the contemporary church (especially the evangelical church) is that he is love. And that’s true. But it’s not the whole truth.

This is important, because if all you know about God are the parts about his compassion, grace, slowness to anger, that are abounding in love and faithfulness) then you’re missing a HUGE piece of God’s character, and THAT can make reading the bible more challenging than it needs to be.

When we think of justice we often think of retributive justice- like if you steal something, get caught and then are charged for the crime. But the bible, and God especially, tends towards restorative justice, which brings people back into right relationship, into harmony with God, with each other and with creation.

Remember that God is love, but that he is also justice. That’s what the second half of the Exodus verse is all about. God forgives, but he can’t leave the guilty alone either. It’s not in his character, God’s righteousness and holiness (the quality which means greater than and set apart) are just as important as his unending love, forgiveness and grace.

So next time you read something in the bible that challenges you, pause. Pause and think about who God is and how what you’re reading may be revealing a bit more of his character to you.

Keep practicing,

P.s. How’s your bible reading going? Do you have any pro-tips that help you read your bible effectively? Let me know by email (meghanlamatthews@gmail.com) or on Instagram (@itsmeghanmatthews)