One Thing Leads to Another

You know the story: “If you give a mouse a cookie, he’s going to want a glass of milk…” Then the silly mouse keeps asking for random things like crayons and napkins and matchbox beds. One thing always leads to another.

When I decided to start reading the Bible in 90 days, I did it mostly out of guilt. I felt ashamed that I couldn’t say with certainty that I had read the entire Bible cover-to-cover. “What kind of Christian am I?” I wondered. “The Bible is the foundation of our faith, and I don’t know if I have even read it all??” 

Open Bible with Pen by ryk_neethling.  Shared under a Creative Commons License.

I’ll be honest: reading the Bible consistantly has always been a struggle for me. I have been in church almost every time the doors were open since I was a baby, so there’s a part of me that starts to whine, “I’ve heard this a gazillion times before. BORING.” Yet, we could read the same passage a thousand times and it can speak to us differently each time. I know this, but still I whine on.

Once at a concert that I attended, the band’s lead singer shared how he had prayed that God would give him a desire for His Word because he was struggling with the “want to.” You know what? God’s done that for me. What started out as a massive guilt trip has turned into something much more. Reading the Bible in 90 days has been a struggle at times, and I still don’t jump out of bed every morning excited to get started (especially when we’re stuck in Leviticus or Lamentations), but it’s got me thinking again. I find myself contemplating Apologetics, Jewish culture, Biblical history and Hermeneutics. (Okay, not Hermeneutics; that’s just a fancy-schmancy word I picked up while The Husband was in seminary. I like to throw it around occassionally to make me look intelligent or “Christian cool.”) I think about God, his attributes, and His desires for us. I didn’t think I’d end up wearing a faith-based thinking cap; one thing just led to another…

Thinking’s not always easy or fun.  I mean, I’d much rather just say, “Okay…this is what I believe. Roll with it.” then put my brain on cruise for the remainder of my life. But what kind of life would that be?

“You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” -Jeremiah 29:13

 

Has there ever been a time in your life when you found yourself surprised/pleased by the unexpected results of a faith-based commitment?