Bible Critics

The Bible has many critics.. Many brash and outspoken people in our society take pleasure in criticizing, maligning and disparaging the Bible – most of them have very little knowledge of what they are attempting to disparage. When I happen to be present to hear such remarks, I am sure to ask some simple questions regarding how much of the Bible these critics have actually read, or if they can tell me why there are two “Testaments,” or any number of orienting questions which are usually quick to reveal how little familiarity these detractors actually have regarding the content of the Scriptures. It’s not that I am asserting some Gnostic ideology that only a few enlightened initiates could possibly understand the Bible, it’s just I find that most hecklers have never fairly considered the book they so vehemently belittle. I can only imagine the outcry were I to take the same approach and scornfully dismiss their favorite novel, movie or sports team with a similar lack of familiarity concerning what I am disdaining. What would they do if I were to definitively criticize their job, industry, or family without any real knowledge of what I was talking about? They certainly wouldn’t take any of it to heart. And neither should we. Occasionally we encounter thoughtful concerns regarding the Bible’s validity which warrant our consideration, but we can be sure that most of the time the critics are clueless.

Communion

Examining yourself before communion...

The Bible tells us that we need to take a good, long look at what is going on in our hearts when we partake in the Lord’s Supper. “Let a person examine himself, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup,” Paul told the Corinthians (1 Corinthians 11:28). In Corinth this intended act of “communion” with the Lord had become a thoughtless and even selfish church ritual. Their minds had clearly shifted from Christ’s substitutionary sacrifice and had wandered elsewhere. We must not ever let that happen to us. We must stay mentally engaged when we partake of these elements. They have been ordained to soberly remind us of the high cost of God’s forgiveness (1 Peter 1:18-19). Eating and drinking them vividly depicts our union and solidarity with Christ as our Savior, Lord and Source of spiritual life (1 Corinthians 10:16). We should also take the time to examine ourselves to ensure that our relationship with Christ is authentic and genuine. Not only recalling the inauguration of our relationship with Christ, but also seeking to discover if there is any unconfessed sin impeding our current fellowship with God (1 John 1:6-9). Lastly, we would be remiss to ingest these symbols of Christ without a heart that is purposefully thankful. Paradoxically, the Lord’s Supper is not only a reminder of his brutal death, but it is also a celebration of the incredibly generous grace of God and the invaluable privilege of being forgiven. Partake with a grateful heart that can say along with generations of Christians, “Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift!” (2 Corinthians 9:15).

Praying Well

We may imagine it an easy thing to pray a simple prayer. But it turns out to be an incredible challenge to pray often and pray well. Even so, God calls his people to a kind of continual and thoughtful communication that saturates every area of life. We are told to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17), which will obviously necessitate an outlook that never forgets that we live each hour in God’s presence. It requires that we consciously affirm his attendance in all the activities of our day. It will take a level of mental and spiritual discipline to turn our thoughts and our words to our ever-present Help in all the tasks we are given to do. Likewise, any success at focused and undistracted prayer will require a kind of spiritual tenacity that is able to say “no” to other people and other things so that we can truly pour out our hearts to God (Matthew 26:36-46). Good and effective praying will also rely on a conscious shift from the trivial to the profound, from temporal things to things that will matter a thousand years from now. So be reminded of the importance of good praying. And don’t be surprised if it doesn’t come easy. Give yourself to prayer and know that these efforts foster a divine intimacy and a connection that far exceeds all the effort and sacrifice that prayer requires.