Less than a Fool

We should apply the Bible – but my point in this post is that we should not focus on applying the Bible. Since the beginning of the year I’ve heard a lot about reading the Bible, starting a one-year Bible-reading plan, and so on – and the discussion usually includes a statement like, “Don’t just read the Bible, but let’s apply it to our lives!” But if your goal in Bible reading is to apply it to your life, then you’re missing the point. I’m a married man. Sometimes my wife asks me to do something like take out the garbage or wash the dishes. I apply her words (usually). Does that mean I’ve achieved the highest goal in marriage? Hardly! Marriage includes taking out the garbage, washing the dishes, and doing other things that my wife asks me to do, but that’s just the tip of the marriage iceberg. Hopefully my marriage is much deeper, more intimate, and more relational than just taking out the garbage. Of course I should take out the garbage, but if that’s the best part of my m...

  Sorry to burst your bubble, but no , you are not a missionary. I know, I hear the same nonstop message as you on Christian radio, from the pulpit, in Bible class … We’re all missionaries because we’ve all been called to share the gospel! Let’s pray for our missionaries. And remember that all of us are missionaries! God has called all of us to be missionaries wherever we are! But it simply isn’t true. It’s an abuse of the English language borne out of ignorance, pride, and guilt. mis·sion·ar·y /ˈmiSHəˌnerē/   – noun – a member of a religious group who is sent away from their home in order to promote faith or provide services. You can stretch the definition to include all Christians – and that’s exactly what is commonly done. We’ve all been “sent” by Jesus to promote the Christian faith – so we’re all missionaries, right? Wrong. A missionary, by definition, is someone who is sent away from their home . I live in Ohio. No one sent me away from Ohio to share the G...