The Beauty of the Word, The Glory of the Scriptures

It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, but the glory of kings is to search out a matter.

Prov 25:2 NKJV

 

I’ve always had a taste for adventure.  I’ve sought for it in many ways.  I love scuba diving, rock climbing, flying, sailing, distant travel; you name it – if it involves adventure or adrenaline, I love it.  As a child, however, I had no way of acting on this passion.  My life was fairly sheltered, and I rarely did anything more adventurous than attempting to catch prairie dogs with my brother.  During these formative years, the only outlets that my adventurous mind could grasp were those that I could find in books.  My love of adventure took me to all sorts of places through science fiction, fantasy, mystery and the like.

As I mentioned in my bio, some of my favorite childhood books included a set of comic books depicting Bible stories.  Watching David slay Goliath; seeing Joseph escape prison through an intrigue of dreams and prophecies; getting lost in images of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego as they braved the fiery furnace – these all gave life to that imagination that feeds a life devoid of physical adventure!

Childhood was also a challenging time for me.  For various reasons, I had few friends, and generally did not live a life very similar to that of my classmates. This distance from those around me drove me even deeper into books – and into a need for relationships.  So what I could not find in physical form, I had to find in written form.  And it turned out to be these very same comic books that fueled my thirst for adventure that also introduced me to the love that would never forsake me – a spiritual friendship that could fill my relational void.  A friendship only found in the person of Jesus Christ.

I only have a few vivid memories of my childhood.  One such memory is very dear to me.  I was walking to school during my 4th grade year, and I suddenly realized that my only true friend was Jesus.  Rather than being saddened by this, I was given a joy that can only come through a relationship with the Savior.  And while life has changed dramatically later in life, a life now filled with many wonderful friends, that special friendship and love that I received from Jesus has never waned.  In fact, it has only deepened.

Like many folks around me, I attended church regularly for most of my life.  And like many, I have read and reread the scriptures many times.  But for the majority of my years, my reading was at a purely surface level.  Maybe you have found yourself reading through the Old Testament, and suddenly lost interest when you reached the “begats”, that is, the genealogies in Genesis.  Most of us begin to fade when we get to lists like these, or strange laws found in Exodus and Leviticus, or detailed descriptions of tabernacles or temples.  I must confess that this was my perspective for the first 32 years of my life.  It was during my 33rd year that I was introduced to a perspective that would literally change my entire view of the Scriptures, and completely re-energize my desire for study.  That sense of adventure that I knew as a child reading comic book Bible stories suddenly reappeared in the pages of real scripture!  I am deeply thankful to a very godly teacher that helped me see the Bible in a different light – as a coherent living, breathing system of messages with one purpose and one focus – to point the way to Christ.  I have come to believe that every page of the Holy Scripture speaks of Christ in some way.  And that God has intentionally hidden many of these messages just under the surface only to be found by the diligent seeker.

I used to think as others: you had to have some level of blind faith to believe in the Creator and the Savior.  That has all changed. I now believe that God never expected us to have a blind faith.  In fact, He gave us His Word in order to ensure that our faith would have a tremendously solid basis.  God’s desire is that we have a knowledge-based faith.  And He has proven the Scriptures true over and over in the pages of that very Scripture – if we only know how to look for the proof.  A wonderful teacher once opened my eyes to the passage that I would ultimately take as my own:

It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, but the glory of kings is to search out a matter.  Prov 25:2 NKJV

What God has hidden in His word, I desperately desire to search out!

Along with my sense of adventure, God has blessed me with an analytical mind.  And it’s this analytical mindset that the Holy Spirit has used to show me linkages throughout the Word that draw it together in a multidimensional picture.  Have you ever seen a painting or sculpture that so captivated you that you couldn’t wait to share it with others?  I’m almost certain that you have!  Otherwise, FaceBook and other social media outlets would not be so popular!  Well, this is how I have come to feel about the amazing images within the Scriptures.  I am so drawn to them, that I must share.  And that is precisely what brings me to write this blog.  My earnest desire is to teach others what I have received also – from godly teachers and from the Holy Spirit.    It is said that the Bible is a spiritual book, and it can only be truly understood through spiritual eyes.  I believe that.  And I believe that the Holy Spirit stands by as our “parakletos”, or “counselor”, and He will teach us through the Word.  In the words of Christ himself:

“These things I have spoken to you while being present with you.  But the Helper, the Holy Spirit , whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.”  John 14:25-27  NKJV

I have been incredibly blessed to have my eyes opened to the beauty of the Word, and the glory of the Scriptures.  I would count it as an even deeper blessing if I can help open others’ eyes as well!  May God truly bless your study – both here, and especially in your regular reading of His Word!

In Christ,

YouJi