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- Apr 25, 2006
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TRANSLATED
'Whatever the Father does, the Son also does' John 5:19
Gandhi once called the Bible "a document containing enough dynamite to blow all civilisation to pieces, turn the world upside down and bring peace to a battle-torn planet." It's the Word of God, it's deep, earthshaking truth on paper, it's the keys to transformed living; but it's hard to ignore the fact that so many people today won't touch it with a bargepole!
So how can your average Joe or Josephina who won't go near a Bible, discover God for themselves? Well, your friends may read the Bible 1% of the time, but they read you 99% of the time. That means you and I have a job on our hands. We're called to be Bible translators, of a sort. Our words and attitudes are to communicate some true thing about God to those around us. "If my friends were only to open the Bible," we think, "they'd find themselves face-to-face with God's truth!"
Here's the thing. If they look at us, they should really be able to see the same - deep, earthshaking truth of God, in flesh! That sort of a lighthouse-life is promised for us, but it's not guaranteed. Only when we've spent time in God's presence, when we've seen and heard, will we be able to 'translate' God's truth in a way that compels others to listen.
What Now? It sounds like a tall order - and it is! But we're not left in the lurch on this one. Jesus (...well, who else was it gonna be!) was the first one who really showed the world God's truth, in flesh. Read through the Gospels looking for things that Jesus did differently, that made Him stand out from the other people who claimed to be following God. What sort of things did He say and do? Oh, and ask for His help!
written by Bob Gass
'Whatever the Father does, the Son also does' John 5:19
Gandhi once called the Bible "a document containing enough dynamite to blow all civilisation to pieces, turn the world upside down and bring peace to a battle-torn planet." It's the Word of God, it's deep, earthshaking truth on paper, it's the keys to transformed living; but it's hard to ignore the fact that so many people today won't touch it with a bargepole!
So how can your average Joe or Josephina who won't go near a Bible, discover God for themselves? Well, your friends may read the Bible 1% of the time, but they read you 99% of the time. That means you and I have a job on our hands. We're called to be Bible translators, of a sort. Our words and attitudes are to communicate some true thing about God to those around us. "If my friends were only to open the Bible," we think, "they'd find themselves face-to-face with God's truth!"
Here's the thing. If they look at us, they should really be able to see the same - deep, earthshaking truth of God, in flesh! That sort of a lighthouse-life is promised for us, but it's not guaranteed. Only when we've spent time in God's presence, when we've seen and heard, will we be able to 'translate' God's truth in a way that compels others to listen.
What Now? It sounds like a tall order - and it is! But we're not left in the lurch on this one. Jesus (...well, who else was it gonna be!) was the first one who really showed the world God's truth, in flesh. Read through the Gospels looking for things that Jesus did differently, that made Him stand out from the other people who claimed to be following God. What sort of things did He say and do? Oh, and ask for His help!
written by Bob Gass
