I love this kind of practical challenge. It’s far, far better than the ‘I don’t get it so I’ll just ignore it’ approach. But practical challenges need practical replies, and that puts the pressure on me to be just as practical in responding.
I’ll start by giving you two options and then fill them in with some more details. By the way, there is no reason why you can’t use both options because I’m pretty sure there will be more than one thing that doesn’t make sense to you when you first read through your bible.
The options are:
make a mark and come back to it
ask someone to help you
Now I know that neither of these is rocket science but I am pretty confident there are rocket scientists out there who will be using both of these approaches in their problem-solving. (Forgive me if you are a rocket scientist and want to tell everyone that you always stay wrestling with a problem until you have solved it. Just between ourselves… I like your style)
Make a mark and come back to it
I learnt this approach from a much respected Christian hero of mine who is no longer with us. He is alleged to have said that he would pencil a question mark in his bible against anything he thought didn’t quite add up. Now, this was something that he evidently did when reading in private.
I have never seen anyone wielding a pencil when preaching or reading aloud the scriptures, but I have seen people taken by surprise by a scripture verse they have just realised they have never understood, both when they have been preaching and when they have been reading aloud. I remember wishing they had had a pencil when preparing.
Now, to be honest, I personally don’t put question marks in my bible. I prefer to note down my ’return to’ verses separately. In this way, I can still keep reading. More often than not things make sense by the time I have come to the end of the passage.
Context can explain a lot, and the wider the context we understand the more likely we are to see explanations for verses that once puzzled us leaping off the page to greet us. I think this is really exciting, so I use this approach as much as I can.
But time is not always on my side. Sometimes I need a more immediate answer if I’m not to be the person taken by surprise in the pulpit, on the platform or at the lectern. (Although there is nothing wrong in admitting publicly that we are still wrestling with some things. After all, we should all be bible students in continuing education programmes.)
Ask someone to help you
Asking is the sensible alternative to making a mark and keeping on reading, and my advice is to start by asking the Holy Spirit. There is nothing wrong in saying ‘God, I don’t get this, open my eyes’.
In fact, I love this prayer because it removes any sense of ‘God you must have got this wrong’. You may start off praying as if God might have got it wrong but you will soon learn that it is more likely that you have misunderstood than that God has made a mistake, but I’m happy for you to go on that journey.
God can handle either conversation.
God, though, may expect you to make some personal effort to have your eyes opened, and there’s no shortage of resources and teachers willing to help. Even friends who know little more than you do can be helpful.
Just setting out your concerns can bring greater clarity. I think discussing with friends can be a great starting point. So go for it. When the answers come you will both have the benefit.
How many advisors you will have to speak to, or how many online, or other, resources you may have to refer to, just to get to a really clear answer, depends on the trustworthiness of the writers and counsellors seek out.
Recommendations will help, but here are two ways of seeking support that I have found helpful and that have saved me a lot of frustrations and have kept me on track as I have expanded my understanding.
Fathers and instructors
The apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthians saying:
“For though you might have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet you do not have many fathers”
Paul had a special relationship with the Corinthian church as he had led many of its members to Christ. He could urge them as individuals to draw on his care and concern for them.
There will be people of maturity who have genuine, God-given care and concern for you. Such people are especially good to turn to for trustworthy explanations.
Runners and bystanders
I see myself as someone on a journey with God and I want people to counsel me as a fellow traveller. I know that around the Christian world there are runners and bystanders.
When the Ethiopian official spoken of in Acts 8:26-40 wanted someone to help him understand what he was reading from the prophet Isaiah, he turned to a man who was running alongside him. People who are willing to run alongside you in your relationship with God are better than those who address you from a distance.
Even online, on air and in print, look out for those who you perceive to be fellow runners and not just bystanders (even if they are leaders).
Keep reading and keep running.