The Ever-Deepening Word

 

“Nobody ever outgrows Scripture; the book widens and deepens over the years” (Spurgeon).

On our way to AWANA recently, my younger two children were bemoaning the fact that they never learn anything new, because they already know all the stories. First of all, I am sure that is not completely true as we have not taught them every story in the Bible. But second, even if they had heard all the stories, as I explained to them, God’s Word is powerful enough to continuously show us something new, something we hadn’t seen before, a connection we hadn’t made yet, or an insight into God’s character we hadn’t noticed in that way. There is always more to see and learn.

In our Sunday night women’s study, we have been reading and discussing Jen Wilkin’s book Women of the Word. Here Wilkin first addresses how to view Scripture (as a book about God and not primarily about us), false approaches to Scripture (like the Xanax approach – reading the Bible just to make us feel better), and how to study it properly. She shows how helpful it is to have the metanarrative (the big story) of Scripture in mind when you’re reading any one part of it. This means understanding how the text I am reading today fits into the greater story of Creation – Fall – Redemption – Restoration. She writes that “we must ‘zoom out’ from any one particular book or passage and gain an appreciation for how it plays its part in unfolding the Big Story.” As we discussed this in class, the concern came up: What about those who read the Word but don’t read it this way? Maybe they haven’t been taught this metanarrative and are just appreciating a passage for what it says by itself. And, here, I think, we come back to Spurgeon’s quote. That’s the beauty of God’s Word.

God’s Word is for the new believer who is simply reading one of the gospels to know Jesus better. But it’s also for the one who has been saved for 50 years who is reading the same gospel and making connections between Christ’s works and Old Testament prophecies, or deepening her understanding of Jesus’ teaching that at first seemed so confusing, or seeing nuances in how the different gospel writers tell of the same events. There is always more to discover and more to see.

In the day of immediate information, quick soundbites, scrolling social media feeds, and constant distractions, it is hard to sit down, be still, and really study the Word. It is not easy to wrestle through passages we don’t understand without immediately turning to a commentary. It is tempting to just choose to do the quick and easy devotionals that give us an encouragement for today instead of actually opening our Bibles and thinking for ourselves. But it is vital (2 Timothy 2:15).  May we be faithful to stay in the Word and may we take our responsibility to disciple other women seriously, for this surely includes teaching them how to study the Bible, so they too can glimpse more and more of the glories of God through His Word (Psalm 119:14-18).

So whether you have been saved for three days or three decades, there is truth for you yet to learn when you open your Bible. There is beauty still to be seen, encouragement still to be gleaned, understanding still to be sharpened, wisdom still to be developed (Hebrews 4:12). So, open the Word, read, and study. God’s Word is truly wider and deeper still.

--Amy O'Rear