Category: theology

How to Misinterpret God’s Will

What college should I go to?  Should I marry Bill?  Should I take the job in Delaware?  Decisions can be so confusing and we as Christians often struggle with making good decisions in light of God’s will.  Does God want me to marry Bill?  How do I know?

I happen to be pretty opinionated when it comes to God’s will.  I think a lot of people over-spiritualize God’s will.  Here are three traps to watch out for when it comes to discerning God’s will in your life.

GIMME A SIGN

When I was in high school my church was struck by lighting and burned to the ground.  No joke.  That actually happened.  I’ll never forget standing in the parking lot watching the inferno.  The blaze was so compelling that my friends and I actually abandoned a Red Wings playoff game to witness the destruction.

Hardly anyone would say that God was mad at my church and therefore smote it.  And yet, many people try to interpret the circumstances of their life in this way.  “I opened my Bible and saw the word marriage.  That means I should marry Bill.”  Nope.  The last time I remember hearing about God speaking to people this way a dude was running around in camel clothes and eating bugs.  I’m not saying God doesn’t speak that way anymore but I think it is a little dangerous to make major decisions based on signs.

DON’T MUDDY THE WATERS

Here’s the thing, God already gave us His Will.  It’s called the Bible.  In the pages of scripture God has already laid out the answer to most of life’s questions.

“Should I marry Bill?”

“Is he a follower of Jesus?”

“Uh…not exactly.”

“Nope.”

One of the best pieces of advice I ever heard was this:  “Don’t try to make unclear what has already been made clear.”  If you really are interested in living out God’s will then study God’s letter to you because the answers to most of your questions have already been clarified.

Going Solo

Most bad decisions are often made in a vacuum.  If your parents, friends and small group all think marrying Bill is a bad idea…it’s probably a bad idea.

God exists in community—Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  God created us to reflect His nature.  We as humans reflect God best when we live in community.

Jesus left us with the Spirit and the Church.  The word church literally means assembly or gathering.  We, as humans are simply better when we submit to community.  We were designed for it.

Your family, friends and Jesus community know you.  They can see your blind spots.  If they don’t think marrying Bill is a good idea, you should listen to them.  Together as a community we uncover what God’s will is.  Attempting to do this alone is dangerous.

So, that’s my opinion on understanding God’s will.  You don’t have to agree with me but I’d love to hear your thoughts on these ideas.  Oh, and sorry if your name is Bill.

Guest Post: Seeing Our Place in the Story

Have you ever felt like it is a challenge to help students understand the Bible, let alone get them to open it?  They will often argue that the Bible is ancient and doesn’t deal with the things they deal with.  That, however, is because they have often missed the story it tells.  Students (or anyone for that matter) will say that it doesn’t make sense or it’s boring.  Again, they may have missed the story it is telling.

I have taught students for almost a decade now, all of which was in a student ministry setting up until this past year when I made the transition to teaching Bible at a Christian high school in Grand Rapids.  I teach Old and New Testament Survey for freshman, which means I get the privilege (and challenge) of teaching an overview of the entire Bible.  And the more and more I teach it this way, the more and I believe every person needs to hear the story this way.

The reason we get stuck or confused or bored when we read the Bible…the reason it appears most Bible reading plans run out of steam somewhere around Leviticus 13 (skin diseases – yes!)…the reason students don’t want to pick up the Bible, might just be that we don’t understand what to look for.  So as we venture to help students read the Scriptures seriously or even as we read it ourselves, consider a few simple thoughts.

The Bible is first and foremost God making himself known.  Many religions or teachings are built around the idea that god is someone or something that you must find, like a cosmic game of peek-a-boo.  But the story of the Bible is the story of a God who says, “Here I am.  I do not hide and I am not far off.  In fact, I am coming to where you are.”  God’s Story is, well, his story.  That means before we ask what God wants us to know about Moses or David or Paul, we must ask what God wants us to know about himself.

The Bible reveals the divine drama that is unfolding before our eyes.  It is a collection of stories that ultimately tell one big Story.   This is nothing original to me, but I teach the Scripture as God’s Story told in four acts: Creation, Fall, Redemption, and New Creation.  I won’t unpack each here, but teaching the big Story of the Bible reveals something essential and yet often missed – the Story is not over yet.  This leads to the next crucial idea:

We can be a part of God’s big Story.  Each one of us has the opportunity to take our individual story and bring it into God’s glorious Story.  We live in the wake of Christ’s great act of redemption and the explosion of the first church to the ends of the earth and we now await (with all of creation!) the glorious conclusion when Christ will come and set things right.  This is God’s Story, and he graciously and gently invites us in.  We get to be a part of a story that has not yet come to its conclusion, and yet the author has given us a glimpse of how the story will end (which looks remarkable similar to how the story began…).

In a world where kids are desperate for something compelling to give their lives meaning, I can’t think of anything more compelling.  With more distractions and shorter attentions spans than ever, I can’t think of anything more captivating.  This is the story we get to invite students into.

Now, go and tell the Story.

 

Matt Bell mattbellwords.com | Matt is a Bible teacher at NorthPointe Christian High School in Grand Rapids, MI.  He previously served as a student pastor at Ada Bible Church. He is a husband to Lyndsay, a father to Codyn, Laila, Jaben, & Violet.  Jesus is the pie pan to all of these delicious slices.

 

Image credited to On Being