Our Creative Creator

More thoughts on the Book of books...

God's word is powerful, "like a hammer that breaks rocks in pieces" (Jeremiah 23). Why? Primarily, because God made us and knows our sins, pleasures, and longings. But the power of the Scriptures - testified even by those who reject their divine origin - is also based on the simple fact that the Scriptures are well-written.

The 66 books that compose our Bible represent numerous literary traditions. Contained in Scripture are varieties of narrative (story), poetry and song, prophecy and sermon, instruction, philosophy, and more. These different forms correspond to our diverse emotional, spiritual, and intellectual needs.

Would we expect anything less from our creator than...creativity?

The fact that the Bible works this way is also important to note because often commentaries or books about the Bible don't do it justice. Here's a helpful quote I ran across recently that makes this point:

"We take in truths the same way we take in nutrients -- extracted an absorbed naturally from the food we eat. Yet, as a Church, we are so concerned about exactly what nutrients we need that we often forget what the meal should actually taste like. Our theological scientists in their research seminaries have spent years analyzing the things we eat, distilling them down to their constituent parts and then labeling them in systematic test tubes. It's vital that they do this, because without their tireless work we wouldn't have such a clear idea of what is needed for a good healthy diet. On the other hand, if it was left up to them to cme up with the menu, we would end up with a plateful of pills and tablets instead of, say, braised salmon fillet wrapped in prosciutto with herbs, on a bed of spinach and yogurt."

- David Salmon (seriously), writing in "The Heart of Worship Files" (Matt Redman, editor)

As with my last post, I don't intend to knock the value of good books, and apparently neither does Mr. Salmon. But we need to be aware that absorbing the word of God is not a merely intellectual process...nor a merely emotional process...nor a merely anything process. Other books may make good companions - but poor substitutes.

To take things a step further, we could also mention that God's word is not intended to be merely read. It is to be heard in corporate worship, sung, pondered, and prayed.

Let God do his work in you through his word. If we can't ask for more, why settle for something less?