Being 5 years older, my husband retired 5 years before me so I gave him the job to do the grocery shopping. Although I have been retired for years, Mac will NOT relinquish the job. But at times he gets irritated when the store changes where they put things. This week he could not find an item he thought should be in a certain place but wasn’t. He hunted and hunted but couldn’t find it so finally asked a clerk who was stocking where the item might be. The clerk told him, and Mac went right to it but later he related to me that he had passed that spot several times as he had looked for it, but never saw it there on a lower shelf by the rice because it had never been by the rice before.
In the same way we miss a lot in the Bible when we speed read or rush through our quiet times with GOD.
If I lost a diamond ring, I wouldn’t casually glance around, but I would search for it high and low until I found it. As a young teen bride cleaning a company house before moving in, I found an expensive wedding ring. It was good for the owners that we knew who had just moved out so we could return the ring. But it always baffled me why they hadn’t searched for it.
Treasures are waiting to be found in GOD’s Word if we look for the clues. Much can be learned if we simply pay special attention to the details and ask questions as we read the Bible. Things like the context or the setting in which things are done and notice the specific words. Words can have various meanings. If we notice the setting they are used in, often our questions will be answered.
For instance, this week as we were talking about suffering for JESUS, one of my students asked concerning a verse she had heard: “So then what does it mean to suffer little children to come to ME (JESUS)?”
When I explained the setting of that verse was when some were bringing children to JESUS to touch and bless them. JESUS disciples had rebuked them and said not to bother the Master with children. But JESUS said, “Suffer (let/ allow) little children to come unto ME, and forbid them not, for such is the Kingdom of GOD” (Mark 10:13-14). Seeing the setting where those words were said, my student immediately understood what was meant.
In a program to show parents what the children had learned, the teacher spontaneously asked the children about JESUS’ miracles. One little boy said, “JESUS raised Lazarus from the dead!” When the teacher urged him to tell more about what happened. The boy responded, “Well, JESUS told them to open the tomb, and then HE said, ‘Lazarus, come out!’ And it’s a good thing HE didn’t just say ‘Come out!’ because there would have been a stampede of dead guys.”
Besides being funny, that little guy has the right idea. HE noticed the details. Do you?
Hugs
Sharon
wakemyear 