Put yourself into the story, that was the message years ago that change my life and how I learned to read Scripture. You see up until that point I would fumble my way through the Bible, understanding bits and pieces here and there. It was a struggle if I am being open about it. Here I was a student at Liberty University, going for ministry yet not truly understanding how a book written so long ago could pertain to me. I would start at the beginning and do my best, making commitment after commitment to read through it in a year only to make it a few months. (Let’s be honest, how many of you have quit when you get to about Leviticus.) As a new believer of only a few years I kept finding myself discouraged crying out to God, “You have called me to ministry, yet I can’t even understand your word, how am I supposed to teach it?” Anyone else ever feel that way? Then one day in one of our youth classes one of our professors started sharing about the best way to teach youth is to encourage them to put themself into the scene. If the story from Scripture is talking about Jesus in the mountains, allow yourself to go to the mountains, look at your surroundings, dream of the snowcaps, the trees, the smells. If the passage is about being by the lakeside, let yourself mind wander to taking a kayak out on the lake engaging all your senses. Doc Vandegriff, our youth ministry professor, may have meant this lesson to be about how we teach others but it was a game changer for me. I started to get a new passion for reading the Gospels once again, placing myself into the stories and then from there learning to take on the roles of the characters described in the story.
Now that we have kids, reading Scripture in this way puts a whole new adventure to this idea. Especially as we were working through the Easter story with our kids, I really tried to focus on giving our kids roles, letting them see all their personalities shine through. Let me give you a glimpse into that to hopefully encourage you to do the same thing.
So I started with Eli our 9 year old. He is definitely a compassionate child, with a heart of empathy. In school he got the “rescuer” award as the one always looking out for others. Going through the disciples, the one I equated him best to was John, the one whom Jesus loved. The one leaning on Jesus side during the last supper. Originally one of the “Sons of thunder,” makes me think of someone who is calm until pressed, then stands up to protect when needed to.
Next was Silas, he was pretty easy to figure out. If there is a word the kid lives by it is, “why.” Can somebody say doubting Thomas? It really has given me a new perspective on Thomas though. We give him this description because of saying he wouldn’t believe himself without proof. That is how I see SIlas, questioning everything, deeper thinking. Whether it is the questions at night of “How old is God?” Then without missing a breath, “do I wear shoes in heaven?” His questions are nonstop, that is just part of who he is. Maybe that is what Thomas truly was like.
Third we have Evans, one of our 4 year old twins girls. She is without a doubt, no brainer like Peter. I can imagine her on the boat as the storms are raging, Jesus walking on the water calling out, “Lord if it is you, I want to come on the water with you.” Who thinks that way, she does. If there is a risk to be taken, she is in. And He simply responds, “Come on.” The rest of us may be sitting in the boat looking at the risk and the circumstances going no way. Before we know it, I can picture her in my mind, diving in without a fear in the world. It is how she lives. She Is our snowboarding, go cart drifting, zip lining wild child. Getting messy and bloody doesn’t scare her at all. (We are going to have our hands full)
Finally is Elliston. Totally opposite of her sister, she was a tricky one to figure out. After some reading though, I came up with the character of Mary, just sitting at Jesus feet. Taking in every word that Jesus spoke. When we are reading Elli wants to be right in my lap, repeating every word. If she is awake she is our clinger, always wanting to be right with me or Lindsey, holding on to one of us, never out of sight. Think about Mary. Almost every story you read in the Gospels, Mary is close by.
This may have been a bit of a different column this month but it is just a glimpse into our family. Hopefully it brought a smile to your face or made you laugh a bit, but the main goal with it is to encourage you to read Scripture differently. Maybe it is something new for you to try, to engulf yourself, allowing your senses to run wild. Hopefully it will make the Bible personal to you understanding it isn’t Just a book written years ago. It is the word of God.
Hebrews 4:12, “For the word of God is alive and active.”
Do you read it that way?
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