July 14, 2015

“Jesus said to the multitudes, “When you see a cloud rising in the west, you say at once, ‘A shower is coming’; and so it happens. And when you see the south wind blowing, you say, ‘There will be a scorching heat’; and it happens. You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky; but why do you not know how to interpret the present time?” Luke 12:54-56

“Why…must the Bible lie alone in your study? Is not the spirit of the saints, the piety of the holy followers of Jesus Christ, as good and necessary a means of entering into the spirit and taste of the Gospel as the reading of the ancients is of entering into the spirit of antiquity? Is not the spirit of poetry to be got only by much reading of poets and orators? And is not the spirit of devotion to be got in the same way, by frequently reading the holy thoughts and fervent expressions of devout persons?” “A Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life”, 1728 William Law (1686 – 1761) “For All The Saints” volume IV (p. 195-196)

What is Jesus saying to the multitudes? What is he saying except that understanding the ways of G*d requires the same devotion that we put into anything else that truly matters in our lives. The people of the first century were people of the land — thus they knew how to interpret all conditions that might affect their way of life. The same is true, Jesus says, in understanding and interpreting the ways of G*d, if we call ourselves “people of G*d”. Jesus was saying that there is an intuition to understanding how the events of our lives play out. Just as we know there often is a rainbow after a rain shower, if the sun shines in just the right way, so we might have our faith brightened if we read about people who have also experienced their faith in response to life experiences. Strong faith can be a combination of knowing and of intuition — intuition from living and learning.

So, we learn about G*d’s ways through the bible — and we learn about life from living with and experiencing life and faith with those who are also trying to apply G*d’s ways into their everyday lives. There are plenty of books today that can be companion reads to the bible — books about the saints, and books about people and their experiences with faith.

Pastor Dave