One of the fundamental struggles
of developing a better walk with God is coming to terms with the reality that
God doesn’t do as we might do, and that as humans we are not in position to
judge God. Notice how this works out from a recent email question I
received. The writer spoke of trying to help one who had questions about
the inspiration of the Bible. To resolve those questions his friend had
compiled a list of qualities that she believed a book from God must possess.
She asked “If God were to write a book for people to live by what would it look
like and what would be in it?” and then set up a list of such
qualifications. Now she was trying to measure the Bible by her criteria.
Understand first that my point here
is not to condemn questioning, seeking or asking hard questions about the
inspiration of the Scriptures. Faith must be built on evidence (Hebrews 11:1) and every disciple has a
personal obligation to see that evidence and construct his or her own faith.
Yet that process cannot begin
with my own personal ideas about what the Bible should look like, or what
should be in it, or how God ought to have done it in my own brilliant human
estimation. Instead of beginning with my assumptions about what I think
the Bible should be the text of Scripture must be worked with as
it is. By looking at what we have can the case be made that this
Book is inspired of God, that it cannot be of human origin? I believe the
answer to that is a resounding “yes.” Once the fact of biblical
inspiration is established then the Bible must be treated as inspired, whether
it ever meets any set of human criteria.
How deeply flawed this “draw up
my criteria” approach really is can be well illustrated by Jesus. If
anyone were to make a list of “If God were to come to earth as a human how
would He appear?” would anyone get anything remotely approaching an
impoverished Jewish carpenter living in a backwater country in the first
century? To make the point even sharper, remember that the Pharisees had
very definite ideas and criteria for the Messiah. Jesus didn’t fit the
bill, so they absolutely rejected Him.
The truth is God rarely does
things like we would do them. In fact, God can even do the exact opposite
of what we’ve expected just to show that He can do as He pleases because He is
God (Paul’s precise argument in Romans 9:9ff).
The Bible may not meet your
criteria or mine. It is still the Bible, God’s inspired Word. Human
reasonings and “think so’s” do not change God’s work, God’s actions, or God’s
word.