What Is Your Reality?

I may have mentioned it a time or two before, but I like to collect different Bible translations.  At last count I had well over 50 and still growing!  It is something that I just sort of started to do when I first began to study the Bible on my own in the mid 1970’s. 

As it turns out, the old Hebrew and Greek languages that the Bible was originally written in are a lot more descriptive than my native English tongue.  One word in the old languages can actually be translated into many different English words, depending on the specific usage or intent in the original text.  And with that in mind, I am always interested to see how the various English translations convey the thought and purpose of the writer.

It is also interesting to note that many scriptures like Hebrews 4:12 tell us that,

“God's word is living and active. It is sharper than any two-edged sword and cuts as deep as the place where soul and spirit meet, the place where joints and marrow meet. God's word judges a person's thoughts and intentions.” 

These verses remind us that God’s Word is a living organism that, for lack of a better term, grows along with us in our Christian growth and development.  Just as I have repeatedly experienced over the years, a Christian can read a verse one day and then at a later point in time, as they mature in their Christian life, look at that same verse and get much more understanding from it.  It is one of those truths that Christians understand, but is difficult to comprehend for someone who has never experienced the life-changing, life-infusing, personal relationship with Jesus Christ!

Case in point, when I do my daily Bible Study, I tend to employ my Bible Study program on my laptop, rather than page through my many hard copy Bibles and reference books.  It is just easier and a more productive use of the hour or so that I allot, as everything is preloaded into the program and is only a simple key tap away.  But what I have come to notice is that the digital copies of the various Bible translations do not always have all the margin and footnotes that many of the hard copy, printed versions do. 

There are times like a few nights ago, when I’ll grab a printed copy that happens to be handy, and look up a verse and be surprised at the additional study notes and/or possibly more accurate English word translations included.  On this specific occasion, I was getting ready to turn out the light before bed, and suddenly remembered something that had happened to Piper and I, that still carried a slowly fading distasteful memory.  So, I stopped short of the light switch and instead, grabbed my small Passion Translation Bible that I keep on my nightstand and turned to the chapter that talks about the God kind of love and in particular to I Corinthians 13:6 where it declares,

“Love joyfully celebrates honesty and finds no delight in what is wrong.”

What caught my attention in the printed copy was the little “d” next to the word ‘honesty’.  A quick peek to the footnotes at the bottom of the page told me that the word ‘honesty’ could also be translated “REALITY” or “truth.”  And as soon as I grasped what that verse was saying, I understood that the folks who had perpetrated the distasteful memory, saw a different “REALITY” that was based on a different truth than Piper and I were basing our faith and corresponding actions on.

Then as I reviewed the definitions of the God kind of love that the Apostle Paul explained in I Corinthians 13, I immediately felt my thoughts turning inside and thinking, “What is my definition of love?” and “Does it line up with the God kind of love as outlined in I Corinthians 13?”

Well, those questions and self-reflection set me off on about a dozen rabbit trails as I began to think about the importance of our words, how we define them and to not always assume that the people around us have the same understanding (or the depth of understanding) or definition of the God kind of love… or any other word for that matter, than I do!

For Piper and I, our definition of the truth was simply based on what the Word of God said about it.  I mean… I’m not going to be the one to question the wisdom of God… especially when Jesus Himself in talking to His heavenly Father, asked Him, as recorded in John 17:17 to,

“Sanctify them (Christians) through thy truth: (for) thy WORD is truth.” (KJV) 

I remember feeling a definite sense of confusion, frustration and disunity when talking to different people about Piper’s needs and the things we were doing in sync with what we were believing for.  Those conversations had a certain sense of eeriness that felt like we were almost existing in two different realms! 

Have you ever had that kind of sense when talking with someone else?   When sharing something that is very near and dear to your heart?

I read an article in The Federalist this morning that explained how we live in a time and age right now in society, where it is becoming a common practice for groups of individuals to change the definitions of words in order to better fit their agenda, their lifestyle and emotional feelings… instead of on objective facts.*

All this brings me to the place of thinking that before two people can have a successful conversation, they must come to agreement on the definitions of the words that they are using!  So as to discover the other participants REALITY that they consider to be the truth that leads and guides them in their daily lives?

Have you established that foundational understanding in your life?  Remember that God’s Word tells us that “Love joyfully celebrates REALITY…”

What REALITY are you celebrating today?

Have a great week, and as you do… Keep EXPECTING God’s REALITY which is His BEST for you!

 

*https://thefederalist.com/2018/05/01/lefts-war-words-manipulates-mind/