I heard something the other day and I thought, “so what are you trying to say?”
It’s happened a couple of times during a preach, just a quick comment about a character or story in the bible. It may go something like, “you’ve probably never heard of this,” and they name an obscure character or bible story. When I hear a comment like that, it just strikes me funny, and not in the “ha ha” way. Maybe they say it that way because what they really want to say, “you would know it if you read your bible,” might not be received so well.
Now don’t get me wrong, because for longer than I care to admit, I would probably be like, “yep never heard of that guy.” That definitely changed when I picked up my bible and just started reading through it. I wasn’t doing anything special like following a study, reading the bible in a year, or doing it with a group of people. I was just reading and underlining things that jumped out at me. In turn, I found that I liked it! Reading the bible is like having a conversation with God. It’s a long, and slightly confusing conversation at times, but a conversation where I slowly know Him better. Most of the time, it’s also helped me know me better too.
After pondering it, I wondered if the answer to my question really mattered? Why? Well, whatever the reason the comment was made, it seemed like a missed opportunity. A teachable moment if you will. I know, those are what we think belong to children, but we adults have them too.
So I wondered, what if instead of tossing off a comment that may or may not be useful, why not see this as a teachable moment? Wouldn’t this be the perfect time to encourage your listeners to read for themselves what God has placed in His book? Instead of just assuming they’ve never heard of the character or story, ask IF it’s new to them? If it is, that is the perfect time to invite them to go home and read through the passage themselves. To take some time and ponder what the words say and the context of when they were written. To make space for the Holy Spirit to take the words on the page, and the message from the pulpit to speak into our every day lives.
So if you hear a comment like that in a preach, sermon, teaching (whatever you happen to call it) just remember the opportunity you have before you. If the story or character IS new to you, check it out more! Read the passage in different translations, check out a commentary and talk about it with a friend. The stories are old, but we are told that “there is nothing new under the sun.” So in these stories and the people who lived them out, we have the opportunity to see a reflection of our own lives.
Cheryl Mendoza 