This Little Light Of Mine

Posted byChaplainmikePosted inJeff Dunn

I have been a Christian now for more than 37 years. As soon as I came into the family, I was told I needed to do two things on a regular basis: go to church and read my Bible. And I have done these two things on a regular basis for all these years. Now, I am (like many of you) on a journey through the post-evangelical wilderness. It is an exciting journey, but one fraught with dimly-lit paths, twisty paths, or at times no discernible path at all. My faith community, while at times frustrating in their cliche’-driven approach to this journey, has been of great help to me in the form of encouragement, even when the way is dark for us all. Churchianity sucks, but a group of believers who encourage one another is priceless. I cannot give up on the church, even with all of its numerous faults.

And I have not given up on the Bible either, even when I see it so horribly misused by those claiming to personally know its author. There are times I wonder if the Lord would like a do-over and not leave a paper-trail as it were. For we have taken what was meant for good and turned it into a brutish club to use for our evil purposes. Or, at the very least, we use it foolishly. I want to talk about a few of these wrong ways we use the Bible.

“Using” the Bible

First of all, any time we “use” the Bible we are coming at it wrong. The Bible is not a tool for our use. It is not a screwdriver or a cordless power drill that we pick up when we have a task to complete.  The Bible is not for our “use.” It is for our nourishment. It is food for us to eat. Do you think of “using” your dinner? If you think of meat as a “tool” to “fix your hunger,” then you are really missing out. That tells me you have never had the New York Strip at Dominic’s in Dayton, Ohio, or the pot roast at Der Dutchman in Plain City, Ohio. That you have never tried a buffalo burger or bison pot roast at Ted’s Montana Grill. These are dishes to be savored and remembered, not just some random protein to be consumed to fix something inside of you. Stop using the Bible. That is not its purpose.

The Flashlight

It’s amazing how quickly I can go from not knowing something exists to having to have it in my hands right now. For a long time a flashlight to me was a long, heavy thing with big D-cell batteries that you kept kind of handy in case the power went of in the night. That was before I discovered the MAGLITE XL100 LED Flashlight. This is a flashlight on steroids. It fits in the palm of your hand but has the power to light up your neighbor’s house across the street. (Or at least it lights up my neighbor’s house at 1 in the morning. Sorry, Mr. and Mrs. Leake!) This flashlight has the same device in it as you find in an iPod that tells the iPod whether you are holding it horizontally or vertically. You can change modes in this flashlight simply by rotating your wrist. Want the beam to be dimmer? Turn your wrist. Want to activate the Morse Code signal? Turn your wrist. Want the light to become a strobe light? Right, neither do I, so keep your wrist still for that.

This flashlight even has an online owners’ club where those who are Maglite XL100 owners can get together and discuss the flashlight in detail. There are those who have measured the thickness of the front lens and compared it with other flashlights. They talk about the best batteries to use. There are even discussions as to what color the flashlight should be. Improvements for the forthcoming Maglite XL101 are bandied about. These are people who take their flashlights very seriously. My question is: Do they ever use them?

You can do two things with a flashlight. You can discuss the flashlight, take it apart, measure it, dissect it, compare it with other flashlights, critique it, find its faults and suggest improvements, even make changes to it on your own. Or you can turn it on so you can see in the dark.

Psalm 119:105 tells us, “Your word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.” God’s word is light for those dark pathways we are walking on. When we approach it as we are meant to, this book will give off enough light for us to take our next step. I don’t care what version you are using, whether you think the NASB is more accurate than the NIV, what you consider a “translation” compared with what you consider a “paraphrase.” Your thoughts as to how chapters and verses should be numbered, or even if they should be numbered (Eugene Peterson fought against this for years in The Message) are pretty much meaningless when you are in the dark and need to see where to place your foot so you don’t fall. Stop taking apart the flashlight so you can explain it down to it’s finest part, and just turn it on and point it where you are walking. Don’t think you have to be able to explain light before you walk in the light.

The Rulebook

There have been a lot of close calls–and not a few bad calls–in this year’s baseball playoff series. Umpires have blown calls left and right. Yet I have yet to see an umpire, a player, a coach or a manager pull the baseball rule book out of his back pocket to consult during the game. When the runner is attempting to go from first to third on a hit to right field, he just runs. He doesn’t pull out the Bill James stats guide to see what the percentage is for him to make it to third base safely. They play the game. If they’re out, they’re out and they run harder the next time.

The most rule-driven sport has to be golf. Talk about rules. There are rules governing when you can consult the rules. But when that golfer stands in the tee box on the 18th hole needing a par to win the tournament, he is not leafing through his rule book to determine what the correct procedure is for this or that situation. He wants to hit the ball to a certain spot in the fairway. He chooses the right club, but then stops thinking and lets his body take over for the shot. Thinking just gets in the way.

So how is it that we have made the Bible a rule book for the game of life? We study and analyze it to such extremes that we never actually get around to playing the game. We are not called to be experts on the rules of life. The Holy Spirit is the expert, and he lets us know when we are outside the boundaries of the rules of the game. Here is how the Amplified Bible presents Colossians 3:15.

And let the peace (soul harmony which comes) from Christ rule (act as umpire continually) in your hearts [deciding and settling with finality all questions that arise in your minds, in that peaceful state] to which as [members of Christ’s] one body you were also called [to live]. And be thankful (appreciative), [giving praise to God always].

The peace of Christ is to be the umpire in our hearts. Let him rule in that way. Our job is to play the game.

The Casebook

Finally, the Bible is not a casebook in a court of law. I was talking with someone recently, sharing a few passages of Scripture, when she said to me, “You’re just trying to build your case so you can win.” I was completely taken aback. Case? Win? Where did this come from? It comes from us thinking that we have to either win or lose an argument. It comes from us seeing scriptures as the ultimate legal guide to us being right or wrong. If I can pile up more verses than you on my side, then I win. Predestination vs. free will? Certainly that can be accurately decided once and for all just by finding the right verses and making our case, right? Let me just set you straight. In the cosmic court, God is judge, prosecuting attorney, defense attorney, and jury. The best job we can get is one of those artists who sketch pictures of the person on the witness stand. Stop trying to use the Bible as a legal text book. It won’t work.

Are you starting to understand why I said maybe God wants to rethink this whole “written word” thing?

So what is the Bible for then? Why even bother with it if it is so misused? Because it is the greatest collection of words ever assembled in mankind’s history. If we approach it the way it is meant to be approached, we will never want to go through another day without encountering it as often as we can. Let me suggest just two ways we can approach it.

Eat it.

As a meal. We all need to eat, and most of us like to eat on a regular basis. And the Bible is a seven-course meal that is new and fresh for us every time we come to its table. When you are young, there should be someone with you to cut up the meat into small, manageable portions, and keep you from eating all the desserts and none of the vegetables. As you get older, you are trusted with the knife and fork and can do your own cutting. And when you are older still, you are invited to enjoy some after-dinner brandy with the Host.

This is not a meal to be eaten in haste. It is not a fast-food drive thru meal. Eating it while doing other things is not encouraged. Sit down. Relax. Eat. Chew. Swallow. Enjoy. Then go in the strength of that meal. Work and play and give and live. Then when you are ready, come back for more. There is always more. There is always enough. And here is a great thing about this meal: It just gets better and better each time you come to the table. And who wants to eat by themselves? Gather others with you as you feast on God’s word. Pass it around, there’s plenty for all. Be thoughtful of those who are too young to eat or drink certain things. Take care not to force your favorites on others. And don’t eat and run. Relax. What’s your hurry?

I have two resources for you as you consider the Bible as a meal. The first is Eugene Peterson’s Eat This Book: A Conversation in the Art of Spiritual Reading. He suggests we read the Bible in the same way a dog “worries” a bone–in other words, as a dog gnaws and chews and works a bone. He doesn’t lick it up in a few bites–he takes his time and slowly enjoys it. The other resource is a movie–Babette’s Feast. It is simple and yet richly deep. Watch it, and then watch it again. And then again. See a picture of just how grand this meal is that God has prepared for us, and how horribly we ignore and abuse it. And see a picture of how much this meal cost our Father.

Be ravished by it.

The second way to approach the Bible is as a letter from our lover. A few weeks ago Damaris Zehner shared about how she and Andy met many years ago. They were both working as Peace Corp volunteers, but in separate African villages. There was no postal system other than imposing on someone going from one village to another. In this way, it might be days or weeks before Damaris could send Andy a letter. (And we complain when our email is acting slow…) She just kept writing until someone was going to Andy’s village, sometimes accumulating 40 or more pages in a single letter.

Just what did she write in all those pages? I don’t know–and I really don’t want to know, Damaris!–but I think I know what she didn’t write. She was not, I assume, making out a list of things that Andy was to do in order to please Damaris. She was not giving him rules that he was to follow if he wanted to merit her favor. I am just guessing here, mind you, but I think Damaris most likely was telling Andy about her days. What she did in the morning. The people she met with, the things that were successful and the things that weren’t. She may have told him what she ate for lunch and whether or not she liked that meal. Damaris probably told Andy about the books she was reading and maybe even quoted some passages that stood out to her, or that puzzled her. In other words, Damaris was revealing herself to Andy. She was not able to be with him physically, so she used the written word to let him get to know her.

Do you think that maybe, just maybe, God wants us to get to know him, too? Is it possible that God is more interested in us learning about who he really is than us memorizing a list of things to do and things to avoid doing? If we believe–and this is no small thing–that God really does love us, that he wants to be our only lover, don’t you think he wants us to get to know his personality, and not just his rules? Joe Spann said something to me several years ago that still rattles my cage to this day. “Following Jesus,” he said, “is a lot less like getting all the answers right on a quiz, and a lot more like having a wild affair with the teacher.” Well, that teacher is Jesus. He wants to have a fling with us that will last into eternity. And he wants us to know him as he truly is, not as we box him up in our narrow view from Scriptures to be.

Read the Bible as a letter from your lover who wants to be known. Eat it as the most incredible meal you will ever have. And see if maybe, just maybe, you really begin to live the life you were made to live. Is that too much to hope for?

38 thoughts on “This Little Light Of Mine”

  1. Pingback: Monday Morning Memo: Getting To Know Him | StereoTruth.net

  4. Cincy Girl and Jeff,

    I’m from Waynesville (now live in California). I heard about the fire–do you know if there’s a possibility Der Dutchman will reopen at some point in the future?

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  5. Thanks for this. Last week my sermon was based Psalm 119:105 and this might serve as a useful follow up.

    It seems to me (in my church, anyway) that Christians could learn from Goldilocks’ experience. There are Christians who don’t read the Bible anywhere near enough. There are those who read it far too much. There are very few who get the balance between hearing the word and doing the word just right.

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  6. I loved the post, Jeff, but what really caught my eye was the mention of the Plain City Der Dutchman. I don’t live near there anymore, but it brings an odd sense of groundedness to an internet discussion to know that we have eaten at the same place, probably multiple times. Again, thanks for the post. It adds to my recent mental cogitations on scripture.

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  8. I was in a bible study yesterday, and we parsed through Exodus 34 about our jealous God and idols. I really thought about bringing up the Bible as an idol. Then I figured I needed to work through that first myself – and voila, your post appeared. (Please stop these timely posts, BTW.) I think that’s where you were going with the flashlight analogy – perhaps an idol would be a flashlight on steroids.

    Still working through this. Ughh.

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  9. The flashlight: Thanks for an excellent idea for my husband’s birthday!

    The restaurants you mentioned: I’ve been to Dominic’s in Dayton and Der Dutchman in Waynesville, but where is Ted’s Montana Grill? I know, do a google search… (muttering to self) Can’t go to Der Dutchman right now, anyway. It caught on fire 2 days after we last ate there.

    Back to flashlights and their uses: Analyzing, dissecting, obsessing, etc.: This is why I drastically cut back on various study groups this year.

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  10. I guess that this way of reading and feasting on the bible is ‘normal’ to me… for that’s how a monk does ‘lectio divina’ in his monastery….
    What fascinates me is to read the bible to get doctrines straight (or at least categorized…) and to see what goes and what goes not…
    But you guys make me realize that my catholic background isn’t so bad at all lol… and they taught me to read the bible! I love telling that to protestants.

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  11. ‘We wouldn’t relate to a spouse, children, parents, friends or co-workers by this rigid, inflexible method, but some of us seem to think that God appreciates it.’

    Awesome! Well put. Just said something similar to a friend in conversation yesterday!

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  12. DITTO! Are you kidding me??? This is the how I’ve been thinking lately….water to my soul today, THANK YOU!

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  13. some kind of manna sandwich…..and it was alright with Oklahoma Joe’s sauce poured all over it.

    I am learning to shut up and voice an alternate view in very selective places. Bible teachers , mostly, don’t take any kind of push back with glad arms. And once you wear the “malcontent” label, anything you say can be put in the circular file.

    This is one big reason why IMONK is, to me at least, such an oasis in the desert .

    GregR

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  15. Reading this post today at this time of day was all directed by God. I needed this in me before I go out into the world today, and I thank you for taking the time to write it.
    I have found myself in the position of feeling i had to find ways to win arguments regarding the way I live my life using the bible. That is, after all, what started the arguments, people using the bible to condemn me and those like me. I have just been made aware of how ignorant my thinking was, and I was doing the same things I didn’t want done to me. I was doing the exact opposite of what Christ commanded of me in “Doing to others as I would have done to me.” It has dawned on me that I don’t need to “win” anything because the victory is already mine. I have a loving relationship with God, I feel His presence each and every time I open His word. Phil. 4:4-8 is my all-time favorite passage. I realize for me the bible is a living, breathing thing, my direct line to God, so to speak. If I have questions, and I seek those answers from Him with all of my heart, He is faithful to his promises and meets me there on the page. I see Him in so many other places, but the bible has been my biggest source of peace and strength.
    This was a beautiful read, and I feel focused and full of love. Jeff, thanks again.

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  20. Yes–I heard about that. My cousin is on the Waynesville fire department and spent the day putting out the blaze. (I have cousins everywhere!) It’s a shame. The restaurant sat just up the river from where my great-grandfather drowned in 1905.

    Glad you are doing well. Here is my answer to “How do we know the Bible is true?” We don’t. We have to come to God by faith alone. That is the only way he accepts us. Anytime we try to “prove” God or “prove” the Bible, we are no longer walking by faith but by sight. Probably not the answer your team wants, but…

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  21. I don’t want to oversimplify a well thought out post, but I think much of it can be reduced to this: “His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.” (2 Pet 1:3)

    When the Bible exists to grow and maintain a relationship that you truly value, a lot of its misuse and mishandling stops being an issue. Even a lot of legalism, which for some strange reason becomes the method for “knowing” no one else but God. We wouldn’t relate to a spouse, children, parents, friends or co-workers by this rigid, inflexible method, but some of us seem to think that God appreciates it.

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  22. I think I would add another thing to the list of what the Bible is not. It is not a weapon to be used against our enemies, at least not our perceived human enemies. I actually think Scripture can be used in the spiritual warfare sense – for encouraging, reminding, and strengthening our souls against the schemes of spiritual forces. But what I get tired of is seeing pastors, politicians, and pundits on TV starting an argument by saying, “The Bible says…” and then proceed to rip apart their philosophical opponents. I guess that goes with the paragraph about “using” the Bible above…

    By the way, I’ve made this argument elsewhere and had people come back and say, “but what about 2 Timothy 3:16?”. My answer to that objection would be simply that that the teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training spoken about in that verse is in the context of the body of Christ. It is not talking about correcting or rebuking our political foes.

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  23. Ray VanderLaan mentioned how rabbis would underscore what the TORAH was really all about to the younger kids at school (yeshiva ??), He would hand out small squares of wax paper and then put a generous tablespoon of honey on each. Slowly the roomful of kids would eat the honey. He would pause and say very seriously “THAT is the TORAH…..THAT is GOD”s word….”

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  25. Darn it, darn it , #(*$&%** it !!! Had my eyes on the Peterson book mentioned at HPB, and then waited to get 8.50 cash. Yeah….some other holy roller beat me to it….. Ok….serenity prayer….serenity prayer….

    Great post , Jeff Dunn. I had similar thoughts this week when a bible teacher was very carefully explaining how the devil can ONLY interact with man’s spirit, not their soul or body (three parts and three parts only, of course….) I bit my lip and waited for snack hour. What bugs me is not any one particular view, but the certainty that we encase them with.

    Greg R

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  27. Thanks Jeff!

    My ministry team and I have been discussing how we answer the kid question “How do we know the Bible is true?” I just forwarded your post on to all of them for pondering.

    Speaking of Der Dutchman…..did you hear about the fire in Waynesville?

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  28. Mr. Jeff Dunn, each time I sit at my desk and read your posts… you prepare a table before me. (Psalm 23:5.) Thank you.

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  30. Hi Jeff,

    I am almost half way through Mere Churchianity. I am at this strange point where i have about 4-5 books on the go…..

    Thanks for clarifying.

    Yeah I have been very busy as of late.

    Blessings,

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  31. I probably spend too much time eating the flashlight. I love digging in to what people say about the Bible, theology, philosophy and such. Especially enjoy some of my fave devotional, believing authors. It’s easy to forget that I’m not just talking, deconstructing, and enjoying the minutiae of the flashlight, but, especially where some authors get very devotional and insightful, that I’m nonetheless eating and seeking nutritive sustenance from – a flashlight – not the ten course feast our Bridegroom has laid out for us.

    Thanks for the thoughts, Jeff!

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  32. “I have two resources for you as you consider the Bible as a meal. The first is Eugene Peterson’s Eat This Book: A Conversation in the Art of Spiritual Reading. …The other resource is a movie–Babette’s Feast.”

    I loved both. Hadn’t thought of them together, but having recently read Eat This Book, I think I should dig out Babette’s Feast and watch again.

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  33. Matthew, let me speak for myself.

    “Post-evangelical” means that someone like me has moved beyond a certain kind of church culture, particularly here in America. It does not mean “anti-church.” It means the American evangelical church culture is no longer my home. For all the reasons you read about on this blog, and a thousand more.

    The reason this “post-evangelical” condition is described as the “wilderness” is that I’m still searching for a church tradition to call home. However, I am not isolated, even in the search. I have a church I attend and where I serve. I have met and enjoyed fellowship with more Christian friends in the past year through being involved with Internet Monk than I had met in a long time before that. Nevertheless, I find myself in an “in-between” place, trying to work out a lot of issues with regard to church. As one author put it, I am in the midst of a “lover’s quarrel” with the church.

    In my case, when one has been a pastor for 25+ years and then suddenly one day, that ends, it creates a certain sense of disorientation. I’m still trying to gain my bearings.

    I appreciate your kind encouragement, and I hope this helps you understand better.

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  34. Have you read Mere Churchianity yet, Matthew? This blog is an extension of that book which was an extension of this blog which reflects the thoughts, experiences and insights of Michael Spencer and now Chaplain Mike, our writers, and myself.

    Also, you will note I said I have not left the church. I can clarify. I have not left the Church (how can I? I now part of the body of Christ) nor have I left my church (nor will I–I have an ministry of annoying people to maintain…)

    I’ve missed you around, Matthew. Haven’t heard from you in a while. Hope all is well with you…

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  36. I just dont get you “post” guys…….

    Not because I see anything overly negative with it but rather I am ignorant to it.

    Let me share with you some intial thoughts I have;

    We need to be careful to ensure we clearly make a difference between the “church” and the church.
    Speaking of the church as being full of sin and corruption is just plain blasphemy. Whereas, the “church” (the vast majority) can be spoken as such.

    Also, you ‘post’ guys need to be very careful you are not being reactionary. In the sense that you are hurt / offended and then you just run………Be mindful that people can be so easily offended these days and quick to bail. (Being easily offended is a sure sign of spiritual immaturity).

    I think being out in that wilderness you speak of – should be a time of seeking to be gathered with the saints. No isolation allowed.

    – Thanks

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  37. I grew up being taught that the Bible was a tool for use. We said it was sharper than any two-edged sword, and like any boy, I pictured myself as the one holding the sword and pointing it at whatever I thought needed to be sliced (metaphorically speaking).

    Ironically, now I’m the one who feels like a tool.

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  38. Jeff I really enjoyed the article and love the way you pointed out we need to eat the word, enjoy it as a good meal, and read it as a letter from our lover. I recently just found out Jonathan Edwards loved the book “Song of Solomon” He took it as a love letter from God to him. I would like to think that the Bible could be a “Case Book” as you stated, for correcting false teaching and having an answer when addressed by other Cults ” Mormons,JW, etc.” I believe you are correct in what you write to many of us do not take the Word as a personal word to us from are Father to get to know Him.

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