The King of all kings has spoken...

Do you avoid certain passages of the Bible with your small children?  Recently I heard it recommended that parents skip "inappropriate" portions of the Bible when reading to/teaching their kids.  I suspect folks mean different things by that line of thinking and though I am aware of some of the arguments, I haven't heard any that I buy.  Our family plows through whatever book we're studying as a family, giving thanks to God for it and asking for the Spirit to guide our discussion.  As the children grow, so does the depth of our understanding together, but we do not have a category of texts that we label as inappropriate for any age. 

With that said, as an adult that has been reading/studying/delighting in God's Word for 30 years, there are still many texts I grapple with and am eager to grow in my understanding of.  There are hard texts.  There are passages that I read and do not understand yet.  I want to know more and more the God I worship, the One who created all that is visible and invisible for His glory, the One whose infinite wisdom is far beyond my finite comprehension, the One who gave Himself for me that I might be with Him for all eternity.

I give thanks to God for the church He brought me into membership with.  The leadership of our church does not shy away from "hard" or "uncomfortable" texts.  This past Sunday, Pastor Ayers read Judges chapter 19 (I'm sure this would fit into some people's "inappropriate for children" category).  This is one of those portions that I still grapple with every time I come to it.  He preached perhaps the most helpful sermon I've ever heard on chapters 19-21.  But before he preached, he read it and prayed along the lines of thanking God for THIS TEXT, which is His Word.

Praying with thanksgiving and the humility that understands that we NEED the Spirit to teach us...THAT is the best starting place!  Aren't we tempted at times to come to God's Word thinking we can stand as judge over it, deciding what is good and acceptable and what parts we should just skip over because they offend our sensibilities?  Or do we approach it like any other book, thinking we can reason out its meaning on our own? Is is just me or are you tempted to sometimes want to read only the parts you deem as "useful" or "exciting" and ignore or skim at best other portions because they're either hard to understand or you have no clue why they are in the Bible in the first place (genealogies, descriptions of the construction of temple, etc).  I know I have to remind myself when these temptations ensue that ALL of the Bible is the inspired Word of God...it is ALL there for my correction, instruction and training in righteousness.  If I don't "get it," or if it offends my sensibilities, the problem is NOT with the text or the Author, it is with me.  Praying with humility and thanksgiving is a very good weapon for fighting these kinds of temptations.

The King of all kings has spoken...it is not for us to plug our ears to any of His Word, but to submit ourselves to ALL of it with joy in the One who has spoken it to us in love.

Here is a link to the sermon if you would like to listen to it too.
Thanks for stopping by, Connie