Maybe Our Freedoms Aren't Quite What We Think They Are?

The whole entire book of Colossians is blowing up my life.

The explosion is a long time coming, because back in the First and Second books of Peter (letters he wrote to struggling Christians he knew), I couldn’t walk away from my reading without wrestling with a lot of little niggling things. I read those two short books just last month, so the collateral upheaval is acute as I sit here in February of 2022 in the wake of what isn’t quite yet a wake of a pandemic.

I’m not a Bible teacher, so I won’t be parsing Scripture here. But if you are curious to know where God seems to be lighting a little TNT under the churches Peter and Paul wrote to in the books of 1 & 2 Peter and Colossians, hold onto your hat for a few combustible moments.

Actually, just two:

Peter lays out the Christian’s identity in the second chapter of 1 Peter. He uses words like a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his possession. The meaning of each of those monikers can be broken down and cross-referenced and have been done so by commentators across the centuries. The short version is that when God enters the life of a believer in Christ, that believer becomes his.

He goes on to say, Look—you’re so loved by God and protected by him and secure in his love for you, you don’t need to do all the empty things you were doing to make yourselves feel better about yourselves. The reminder of who the believers are and whose they are should make us religious people relax. He loves us!

And then, Peter drops the bomb.

“Submit to every human authority because of the Lord, whether to the emperor as the supreme authority or to governors as those sent out by him to punish those who do what is evil and to praise those who do what is good. For it is God’s will that you silence the ignorance of foolish people by doing good. Submit as free people, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but as God’s slaves. Honor everyone. Love the brothers and sisters. Fear God. Honor the emperor.”

— 1 Peter 2:13-17

Excuse me, but what?

I picked up my phone and texted an older, wiser friend who actually is a Bible teacher and I asked, “How do we read the second chapter of 1 Peter and demand from our leaders our perceived freedoms? Is it just me, or do we submit to our government, even if we lose our earthly freedoms to do what we want?”

Before I disclose her reply, I want you to know that I wasn’t being pawky when I asked. And in the political climate that has seen mask mandates and protests and freedom convoys, I know I risk losing some of you, too. It’s okay. Maybe you read this passage differently than she and I have. You have that freedom. But here’s her response to me:

“I think we submit. And look like Jesus whatever the cost.”

Can you feel the shrapnel? When Jesus blows up our expectations and bids us to take up our cross to follow him and “look like Jesus whatever the cost”, there’s a lot of shrapnel. It changes us. It makes us look at our lives a little differently. It burrows itself into our broken places but always, always in light of the reminders that we are just what God has called us: His. For his glory and our good.

I’ll come back to the second explosion in 2 Peter next time. Until then, remember whose you are and that he never, ever wastes what we give up to follow him.

What to Do When You Just Can't Read Your Bible Anymore

Recently in this space, I wrote a post titled, “What to Do When You Just Can’t Do Church Anymore”. It was written for those who earnestly love the gospel of Jesus Christ but who have been so turned off in one way or another by the church, they just couldn’t bring themselves to be there anymore.

Overwhelmingly, it was helpful. I’ve had plenty of feedback from readers who have been thankful for the grace and space to breathe and a chance to heal from whatever the hurts and issues have been, and who are finding a way forward.

Also, I’ve received some hate. Blogging is an open forum to write what you believe to be a helpful, Biblical, gospel-saturated piece that can then be immediately torn apart by those who believe themselves to know better. I’ve grown a thick skin over the years, but I have also been around the block for nearly half a century, which is long enough to recognize when arrogance runs the ship. Usually, when there is an immediate dismissal of a grace-laced article written with an intent to point readers back to Jesus, the antagonist has not himself been broken enough yet. When our faith is tested, we tend to have gobs of grace to let others figure things out for themselves, too.

But let’s move on to the reason I’m writing this particular post, and I’ll begin with the same caveat that I wrote in the related post about church:

I am not the Holy Spirit.

Take everything I write with that big sentence ringing in your ears.

So while I am not your Holy Spirit, I can stand here as a compassionate reminder that you can listen for him and seek God’s truth, and being one of the people who point you back to Jesus is my heart’s deep desire and the reason I write in the first place. I’m no substitute for God.

That having been established, these are the truths I know about being in an emotional space where you just can’t open your Bible anymore:

1.

You don’t have to open your Bible anymore.

Don’t write me off yet. Read the rest before you start sending comments my way.

When we left our rigid, rules-loving church community, I went through a painful time of reassessing everything I knew to be Christianity. It wasn’t just about the 10 years we spent in a culture of behavior-based religion. I had to re-examine my Evangelical upbringing, too, because while I had parents who passionately loved the gospel and earnestly believed in God, there was a lot of gobbly-gook tied in with all of the things we did.

From Sunday School to youth group to summer camp to small groups, and yes, to Bible study, my brain was busy cataloging all of the ways a good Christian woman behaves. For me, the list included everything from spiritual disciplines (fasting, prayer, Bible reading) to Western Christian cultural norms (contemporary Christian music, involvement in para-church organizations, dressing a certain “acceptable” way).

It was a lot to bear. Several years into my adult post-college life of raising and homeschooling a million kids, I remember sitting in my van one day crying out to God, “You say your yoke is easy and your burden is light, but this feels like oppression!” And it was.

But God had not burdened me with the endless list of “required” behavior. I had. At the top of that insufferable list was Bible reading. Being “in the Word”. Usually in some sort of daily “quiet time”. For me, reading my Bible was not only a checklist item, but it was also a badge of religious achievement, something I could sling around to showcase my Christian prowess. If I could start a conversation with, “I was reading in the book of Galatians today. . .” I earned gold stars or jewels in my crown or something.

So when it came time to sift through the religious chaff of my own planting, I had to shut my amply-underlined Bible. I stopped reading altogether. Until I could come to a place where reading it was driven by God’s love for me and a hunger for His words, I just couldn’t bring myself to go through the motions. I shut up about how much I’d read, too.

And then the time came. Three years (yes, years) later, I wanted to read my Bible again. All of the Scripture I’d memorized over the course of my lifetime had served me well in the interim, but now I knew it was time to jump back in because I had a desire placed in my heart. I wanted to open it up and read with other people and discuss it and chew on it and let it change me.

If my story shares similarities with your story, let me encourage you. Stay close to Jesus and watch how he draws you back to the things that are going to continue to mold you into the likeness of Christ. It’s okay to crumple up the to-do list and train your ear to listen for him, instead. In fact, it will be better.

2.

When it’s time, you might find that approaching the Bible in a new and different way is exactly how you need to approach the Bible.

So, yes, I stopped reading my Bible. But then I discovered something surprising: If I listened to someone else read the Bible, it didn’t feel as if I were just trying to play by the rules and gain some extra Brownie points.

It may seem convoluted, but hearing the Bible every day is better for me. It reverberates in my ears and makes me think deeply. I can’t say whether or not it will be better for you, too, but it’s worth looking into.

My favorite audio Bible app is Dwell. It will cost you some pennies, but it will be worth every single one. You can listen along to a plan or to whatever you choose. You can change the voice reading it, kind of like when you switch to a different voice announcing directions on your car’s GPS. You can change the speed (I’m a double-time girl) and choose whether or not you want background music and what exactly that will sound like.

Click the photo above or click here to see Dwell for yourself. No, this isn’t an affiliate plug. Pretty sure they don’t even know I’m here.

3.

When it’s time, you might find that approaching the Bible with a community of others is exactly how you need to approach the Bible.

It’s good to hear other people read the Bible around us. It’s encouraging to hang out with fellow skeptics, fellow wanderers, fellow believers, fellow struggling people. Sometimes we have the same questions about scripture and sometimes we just need to admit to each other that we don’t have this figured out. We are, after all, seeing all of scripture through a glass dimly.

1 Corinthians 13:12 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.

Sometimes it’s just good to be reminded that we don’t know it all. Out of that humanity, we can embrace discovery on God’s timetable. The Holy Spirit is, after all, a fabulous teacher, and he can be relied upon to reveal to us exactly what he wants us to know about him.

To that end, I want to recommend something else that has helped me get back to regular scripture. A friend told me about a podcast she’d just begun in January and I jumped in, right as they were starting Genesis. You can jump in right now or any time you want; they’ll start back over again in Genesis in January.

What’s the podcast? The Bible Recap. It has changed my year, if only by the daily reminder that, “He’s where the joy is”.

Tara Leigh Cobble is the woman who does the recap each episode, and she gets the gospel. I mean, she really gets the whole “It’s all about Jesus” thing. So for someone who may be struggling to unshackle from the bondage of really bad religion, Tara’s insights will help you remove the chains with the power of the Bible, link by link by link.

This is a safe space, my friend. You are free to admit that you just can’t read your Bible anymore. When it’s time to pick up the nourishment and encouragement and find God there once again, he will make it known to you and by whatever creative means he chooses. As my trusty Bible Recap reminds me, “He’s where the joy is.” Truly.

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Bible Study for Losers

affiliate links

Ever feel like a Bible study loser? Me, too.

I’ve been in the big ones that are worldwide, neatly organized, really well written, and push me to get ‘er done. I’ve loved them in the seasons where I could be a part of them.

In other seasons, I have met with smaller groups, in more casual settings, and I’ve also tried to go it alone. I’m highly self-motivated, but going it alone is not a good match for me. I’m a Bible study loser, for the most part.

Last summer as I contemplated what to do about my lousy lack of Bible study, I felt like the Holy Spirit was nudging me to connect with my across-the-street neighbor. I actually just started the text to her with, “I’m not really sure what God is asking of me, but I thought I’d reach out. . .”

Turns out, she thinks she’s a Bible study loser, too. We picked a book we were both interested in, met early on a Friday morning, fumbled our way through it, and forgot to pray.

But it was good. Know why?

God is more interested in the us than the what, why, where, how, and when. He has something to show you, a way to love you more, a window into the goodness that is him. No pressure. No perfection required. Just you, showing up.

We’re still not very good at this Bible study thing, but we are showing up. We can trust God to do whatever it is he has for us and we can rest knowing that he loves us enough to change what needs to be changed. Even if we don’t fill in all the blanks. We can be Bible study losers who get to the end of our lives and still hear God say to us, “Well done, my good and faithful servant”, because all the work is his, and he promises that he will exquisitely finish what he has begun.

Take the pressure off yourself. It isn’t yours to bear.

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Great Bible Study Resources (For Losers and Non-Losers Alike)

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