When I used to go to church
I wasn’t who I was
…
Neither was God
…
So we both left
…
Sad
Disappointed
For my church-going friends
I mean no harm
This is poetry
Expressing the experience of many
Not doctrine
Saying how it should be
Grace and peace to you…
dw
Now we know who won
what is left to do
but love God
love our neighbor
keep praying
and persevere
with more compassion than ever
through the trials and tribulations
of an evil, evil time.
Grace and peace to us…
dw
If it were the end of days,
I’d say:
Let’s do this,
See what God begins next.
Let’s do it together,
See how God loves
from the very next beginning
To the never-ending end.
dw
You may be tempted to read the letters written by the Apostle Paul.
My advice: Don’t. Not yet.
Not until you’ve soaked in the Gospels for a good while. And John’s letters. And James’s letter. And Peter’s letters. And maybe a good bit of the Old Testament.
Why? It’s easy to get things all turned around otherwise.
It’s easy, because of Paul’s logic and eloquence and personal story, to make Jesus about Paul instead of Paul about Jesus.
Paul would scold us for that.
But the church has split itself into hundreds of factions because it got things turned around, mostly about what Paul wrote.
Reading Paul is like handing a dangerous chemical: if you don’t handle it carefully, it can can be deadly to you and others.
So, stick with the Gospels. And the letters of John and James and Peter. For now, anyway.
(Even Peter struggled a bit with Paul’s writings…he writes about it!)
Grace and peace to you…
dw
Once you have read Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John…
If you find yourself wanting to move on
(maybe you’re thinking “Ok, I’ve read that bit, now let’s get to the rest of the story”
or maybe you’re not)
Don’t do it. Stay right here.
You’ve just met the person you’ve been longing to meet your whole life
And he wants to hang out.
(Maybe you remember reading “Abide with me” – that’s what he means.)
So, hang out. Read John’s gospel again. Find out more about this person, what he’s really like, who he really is.
Read slowly, hear what he is telling you. Ask questions, tell him what you think. Like you are on a walk together, or in a coffee shop.
Getting to know Jesus is the best part, the whole reason to read the Bible. As you get to know him, he’ll tell you about the rest.
You’re already where you long to be, need to be – with him.
Linger.
Grace and peace to you…
dw
p.s. Go here to see the rest of this series on reading the Bible.
becoming flame 