We parked behind the church this morning. As we were leaving in our truck, my (very literal) son gasped and said, “That sign says ‘NO TRUCKS!” We explained what the owners meant and explained that it was there because they were concerned that some big trucks could tear up their parking lot.
Just then, I smiled. I may have even slightly giggled to myself.
This is a great example illustrating why identifying God’s purpose within Scripture.
Here we are, some 2,000 years after the ascension, in another culture, another country, with another language. We live in a completely different time with a multitude of different problems and questions for God. Recognizing this, we need to understand that reading the Bible for its literal meaning is not always the best strategy for identifying why that particular passage is included in the Bible.
Think about how many times you have thrown down your opinion with a NO TRUCKS! No Matter What kind of theology. I admit I have done that a time or two more than I want to admit.
Imagine a pickup truck driver reading the same sign within the framework of that kind of thinking: “The sign said it, I believe it, and that’s enough for me!” Well, alright then!
It’s easy to consider this example because it seems so simple.
Why, no one would think that way, it’s too foolish and irresponsible.
Really? Who’s to say the big trucks couldn’t park across the street? Where do the boundaries stop? Where do we draw the line? What if the parking lot got repaved to handle bigger trucks, but the sign was left? Can you begin to see why it’s worth considering why a biblical passage was written in the first place?
If we don’t ask why when we don’t understand something doesn’t make sense, we’ll never get to know the owner’s heart.
A literal interpretation of that passage in the Bible might prevent Christian truck drivers from the very people who could invite them to dinner and share the Gospel with them. When we seek the owner’s original purpose, however, we might be able to confidently drive our trucks right through the parking lot, waving and smiling as we pass the owners standing outside looking right at us.
It is the glory of God to conceal a matter; to search out a matter is the glory of kings. Proverbs 25:2
To the seven churches which are in Asia:
Grace to you and peace from Him who is and who was and who is to come and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne, and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.
To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
Look! He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen. Revelation 1:4-7
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