Let’s Get Smart
We like it when people ask questions. Last week we had a fireside chat about the book of Matthew. There were double the number of people I expected to be there. One of them said the question that they're carrying with them as they read a chapter of the gospels every day is the question, “Why is everything in the world not good?”
If God created a good world and there's a good God who's in charge, then why is everything not good? I love this question. I like it when I’m challenged to see something new in Scripture. And we’re together in a summer 90 day challenge so that we can seek Jesus for answers to our questions together. (To jump in, start reading Mark 1 chapter every day!)
Larry challenged me this week intellectually, too. He pushed me to see the almost pure moral value of some of the books of the Old Testament. Certainly, the words of the Bible are an avenue for seeing God in the person Jesus (the point I was pushing). But his push was to also see that the wisdom literature of scripture has its own value in describing to us the Good Life. (That is, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Job, even Song of Solomon. For a good introduction, check out all of this 5.5 minute video).
We’re inviting people to reconsider that the Bible itself might be simply good. We've heard friends not sure about the goodness of Scripture, many because of things in the Old Testament that either look like God is angry or people are treated unequally (good fireside conversation). But I wonder – if you were only handed the book of Proverbs on its own, could you walk away with an impression that whoever wrote this and whoever is in charge of this kind of a world is good, smart, wise, worth following? Would you pursue the rest of the Bible to live a good and wise life yourself?
So in a world where we want the Good Life, but we are finding a whole lot of things in the world that are not good – let’s see together what the Bible has to say about walking in wisdom.
If it's been a while since you've been part of a Sunday morning service, please join us!
Come ready to ask someone to pray for you about a decision you’re making
Come to receive some guidance on where wisdom comes from
Come to sing and to remember a time when it felt like you were more connected to what is truly good
Or maybe come because it's probably a good thing to do.
I hope you'll consider the practice of coming together in worship and study to be a crucial part of your life with God and in community thriving. We're going to make some really big decisions for our Kitsap House community this year. So let's seek out and walk in wisdom together.
See you Sunday and/or around the firepit in a couple weeks!
Pastor Megan