Recently I was driving on a four-lane highway. Everyone in front of me started to break. Some started to veer off at the next exit. Since I wasn’t very far from my destination, I did the same. “Problems ahead, better go around.” 

This is often how we treat difficult parts of the Bible. Perhaps we encounter passages about the necessity of forgiveness, about marriage, about demons, about loving enemies, about bloodshed in Canaan, or about repentance, and metaphorical brake lights start flashing in our minds. “Problems ahead, better go around.”

My suggestion is that we deal with difficult passages, instead of avoiding them.

This might include getting a solid Study Bible (if you need recommendations, let me know). It might include consulting some resources that give you historical or cultural context. It might include speaking with a wise Christian and accessing some helpful, biblical teaching or preaching from someone who is trained to do so.

And it will definitely include prayer.

You may not have the time to go deeper every single time you open your Bible. But if there are topics or issues that continue to challenge you, don’t keep avoiding them. Set some time aside to go deeper. 

2 Timothy 3:16 is used to highlight how the bible is inspired by God: “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”

But notice the four different uses it provides: teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness. All of these are intended to help us mature in our faith. And then there’s a specific purpose statement: “so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” 

But that can’t happen if we leave our Bibles closed, skim it, or take a mental off-ramp every time we encounter something challenging. 

Let’s commit to growth as we swim in the depths of the Word of God.

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Notes:

-New podcast episode and blog: “What Jonathan Haidt just said about A.I. and the next generation.” Click here, or find it on ‘The Pulse Podcast with Matthew Ruttan’ wherever you listen (Apple Podcasts, Spotify, etc.)

-Bible quotes are from the NIV.