Scripture Verses that caught my attention today: John 5:39-40 “You search the scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that testify on my behalf. 40 Yet you refuse to come to me to have life.
Observation: Jesus points out what Lutherans (most) hold dear—the ultimate value of the Scriptures is that they point to what God has done through Jesus. The Scriptures themselves are not Jesus.
Application: A great many Christians (and even non-Christians) see the Bible primarily as a rule-book—a list of do’s don’ts with a side helping of Jesus.
In reality, Jesus is the main course and dessert all rolled up into one. The rest of the Bible is more or less the appetizer—a foretaste of the feast to come. A sign of what God longs for in this world and from us.
Frustrated that what God longed for from us was not coming to fruition, Jesus became the fulfillment of the way, the truth, and the life. Yet while he walked this earth, there were many who refused to come to him to have life. I’m not sure we would have behaved any differently.
Fortunately the tables are now turned. In Christ God has now made the first move. Christ comes to us. His offer of life is right before our very eyes—his life-giving presence in the bread and the wine.
Prayer: Lord, thank you for offering us life and, in fact, giving us life. Help us to cling to it for, well, dear life. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
(Readings today included: Nahum 1-3 and John 5)
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