Jesus, my Bible
Scripture is the cradle
Within which Christ lies. Martin Luther
Read Luke 24:36—49
The presence of Jesus will never stop unsettling me. As I come to my evening devotion it would be very suitable to me if he could be with me as a familiar companion. I could be contented at that. But I read that when Jesus appeared to his disciples they were terrified. He had to say, ‘Peace.’ He had to prove that he was not a ghost. A frightening encounter. He always comes from beyond. Now I see that I am to meet him in the scripture, and I know, I just know that it will be full of thorny problems of interpretation. I will need to wrestle with my Bible, surely. Won’t I? Let me think, if Jesus is the risen Lord of my life, let me leave it to him to reveal his true nature to me. Can I trust him to do that? If Jesus is the climax, the goal, the conclusion and the key to all scripture, let me leave it to him to reveal himself and the clues about himself as I read it.
Prayer
Dear Lord, you are true Lord. I believe that as I believe you. You are God’s address to me. You are God’s claim on me. Therefore you speak. You speak your name and my name. You speak forgiveness and restoration. You speak love. You speak direction. You speak meaning and purpose into my life. Speak through the scripture. Let me open my Bible and there meet you in all the wonder beyond my own poor efforts as I see you wrestling to win the human race. As I see you speaking to people hard of understanding, resistant to understanding, even sinfully resistant. Let me find you there, as I read my Bible. And find you as friend.