Quoting Scripture

Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him. (John 14:23 NKJV)

Choosing the right words to convey exactly what you want to say can be tricky business.  For instance, "read" and "peruse" generally mean the same thing, but "peruse" means to read with more attention to detail.  You could use the words interchangable if you wanted to, but if you wanted to convey a more specific meaning, you would probably choose differently.

Imagine the job that those who translated the Bible from its original Hebrew and Greek had before them.  All those words that maybe had very nuanced meanings that the the translators might have missed.  It can make for some serious mistranslations!

Take the verse above.  "He will keep my word" is translated in the NIV as "He will obey my word."  There is a very nuanced difference here.  Does the "obey" translation want us to believe that if we don't follow God's laws... if we break even Jesus' commands to turn the other cheek and walk the extra mile and sell all we own and give it to the poor... does that mean God will not love us and make His home with us?

Whereas, "he will keep my word" has the nuanced meaning of treasuring and holding fast to God's word.  Treasuring God's law doesn't mean that we won't fail miserably, it just means that all that is within us strives toward it.  It's an important difference and it is a difference that might not be noticed if we simply pick and choose verses rather than taking scripture as a whole to know the nature of God.  We know from the entire sweep of scripture that God will not reject us for not keeping the law but that he wants us to strive to keep it... for our own good, not his.

Be careful about quoting scripture.  If you have some favorites, study them.  Study their context.  Study them in historical context.  Study what the original words meant.  Study scholars arguments about what they might mean in English.  You may find that the original intention might not have been what you believe it means.

Father,
You have given us this awesome gift of your word in the Scriptures.  Help us to be responsible with it.  Help us to study it beyond the surface of our favorite translation.  If we are to use it as a sword, we must be very careful.  Amen.

Joys:  Facebook and the ability to keep up with family through pictures, videos and updates; Emma crawling... sort of... she can at least get to where she wants to go!; 32 years of marriage today and a husband I love more today than on our wedding day.