My office is a disaster zone right now. There are piles everywhere, furniture moved, and painting tape along the edges. A week ago, I had Rylan paint my office from Royal Blue to “White Pepper.” I’m sure you can imagine how bright it is now!
I realized I wanted to change some of the furniture around at that time, using my armoire for my printer and scanner instead of random storage. But using that armoire required me to clean out what was already inside.
Have I told you that I’m also a packrat? I keep my children’s baby teeth, the CD I got signed 12 years ago, every card, letter, and picture Emily has ever sent, along with 312 crafting tools that never get used in that armoire. As I go through it now, the piles outside the armoire grow larger as I decide how I need to rehome each item. It really is a mess!
Scripture can sometimes be like that to me. I have a story or passage from the Bible in my head that I’ve known for a while. Often, however, I like to go back and revisit those chapters. It allows me to grow deeper in knowledge of the situation. It gives me the ability to study it better in regards to context. Reviewing them permits me to dig deep and get application from God’s words.
In order to do that, I can’t just read through and hope I understand. I must unpack it, bit by bit, verse by verse, and lean into each word. When I’ve considered it, I then need to determine what it means relating to my walk with God; I want to give glory to Him with everything I do.
Just like unpacking my armoire, I need to unravel the scriptures from thought that I may have had previously. Maybe I was taught something inappropriately. Perhaps I have a misunderstanding of the Bible because I didn’t do adequate research the first time. It could even be that a sermon or Sunday School lesson I heard in my childhood was framed differently in my mind as I got older.
I strive to unpack the scriptures! I want them replaced in the right spot…the spot that allows me to have a deep understanding of who God is and what He has done for us. I want to know that I’m accurately representing what I say to my Bible study groups and people around me with whom I share the Word.
I pray you begin to unpack the beautiful words in the Bible. It is filled with God’s love, grace and redemption! Perhaps you’ll find something new in an older story or verse that you hadn’t realized before!
~Erin
Iron Porch 