|
“Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15).
My wife keeps a “sudoku” puzzle book beside her armchair, and when she has a few minutes, she enjoys keeping her mind sharp with a difficult puzzle. But occasionally I see her pick up the eraser and begin to eliminate some of her work. Why? The numbers just weren’t fitting anymore as they should!
It is like that when we read God’s Word. We need to read and meditate on what we have read. Then we can form thoughts on it. But if our thoughts are not guided by the Spirit of God, we may get a wrong idea, and then other parts of Scripture just don’t mesh with that thought. Everything seems to be scrambled. We may have to use the “eraser” and go back to square one in our thinking on the meaning of a verse or passage. That is the meaning of the phrase “rightly dividing the word of truth.” When we interpret God’s Word correctly, everything fits together smoothly.
When my wife starts to do a sudoku puzzle, she uses a pencil, not a pen. It’s the same when we interpret the Word of God. We should take time to meditate, and then check other’s thoughts and commentaries, before picking up that pen that cannot be erased!
|
