There Is More to the Story

I was just thinking about turning in my report for church council. I include things like who I visit, who is communed, and other things that I have done throughout the previous month. Even though there may be many things written, there is always more to the story. It doesn’t account for all the study that is done, the people that I stop and visit with at the store or some other activity. There are things that are done that are confidential that don’t make it on the report. Not that long ago, I was visiting with someone about a passage in scripture. The attempt was made that because something wasn’t specifically written then it didn’t happen. I have also heard the opposite said that just because it wasn’t specifically written down doesn’t mean it didn’t happen. Both can be true, but both can also be false. So much is found in the context of the verse, but it must also be viewed through the lens of the rest of Scripture. It is obvious that if everything was recorded, there wouldn’t be enough space to contain it all. There were no hard drives back then unless it was made from stone. One of the questions that we must ask is, “Is this essential to the understanding of this passage”? It many ways, it is like a parable... only one main focus. Sometimes in trying to break down a parable, we strip it of its power because not everything spoken of is to be figured out. Some of the parable is just setting the stage. We can’t get lost on pointless details at the expense of the focus... the truth. Does it matter what time of day it is? Do we need to know what everyone did? Were there other people healed, raised from the dead, baptized, or beaten for their faith? Maybe, but in the context, is that fact going to change the message that was given. It is important to know who they were writing to and maybe the reason for the letter. Were they believers in Jesus Christ or were they Jews, still bound by the law? As with understanding any literature, we need to ask who, what, where, when, and why? We might not be able to answer all those questions in any given passage, but it is worth knowing. We also want to know where in God’s word this particular topic has been discussed before, as a guide. It is good to ask questions, but we must finally rest on what God says. Father, we can be guilty of adding and taking away those things that don’t fit what we want to see. Forgive us. Teach us the truth. Amen