March 24, 2013
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What the Bible Doesn’t Say
Great artists know that isn’t just about what you create, but what you leave out. The blank space on the page, the conclusion left unstated. Today I read the Bible and think of all the things it doesn’t say. It caught my eye in Luke 4:1 “He was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, where he was tempted by the devil for forty days.” We don’t get to hear those temptations—just the last 3, after Jesus got good and hungry. What were those other temptations? Sex? Drugs? Gambling? Homosexuality? Curious-er and curious-er.
What about what Jesus wrote in the sand with the adulteress? What was that thorn in Paul’s flesh? Why are there so many things specifically NOT said that I want to know? Why doesn’t the Bible say anything specifically about masturbation? Why do so many things need to be explained by cultural context that are lost in the pages of history? Polygamy and war? Old Testament God, sometimes I curl my lip up at You.
I like to think that someday, I will get these answers. I am working on reconciling myself to this “someday” being in heaven. The Bible is a pretty big book as it is—normally takes me a year and a half to “Read through the Bible in a Year.” I haven’t understood or worked through all I have read, let alone all I wish I could read. Breathe, Rachel, and deal with that first.
And the rest? Trust. If God is as big as you believe, then He knew what you (and all humans) would need revealed for this life on earth. And He put it in that Bible of yours. He made sure it got there—over time and people and places—to your bedroom dresser. It is sufficient because He is sufficient. What a relief. I’ll just write down the rest of my questions to make for an interesting blog conversation.
