Looking for Answers

 By Brooke Momblow

“It’s like putting a puzzle together,” I explained to my friend. “You can’t see the picture clearly without using all of the pieces. You have to read the entire book to see the whole picture…” She wrinkled her nose at me. “Obviously I’m missing some pieces, I think I have to go to Bible College so someone can tell me how to understand it.” I laughed out loud because I understood how she felt. “It’s not as hard as you’d think, just reading more of the Bible can help.”  She looked skeptical.

My friend didn’t grow up in church but had been attending for several years. She felt there was still a lot she didn’t know but wanted to. On this day she asked, “I know Jesus was a Jew, but when did he become a Christian?” This time I didn’t laugh, she was honestly asking. But she didn’t need to go to seminary to answer her question. It could be answered by reading Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John. She didn’t know the answer because she wasn’t as familiar with the story as she thought she was. Understanding can be as simple as being familiar with the stories.

Often we are lulled into thinking we know everything we need to know about the Christian faith because we attend church. However, there is a lot we might not be aware of if we aren’t reading the Bible for ourselves. Pastors and teachers help us learn how to connect the dots of what we read to other parts of scripture, they help us understand what we couldn’t know without taking classes – like the full breadth of a Greek word or how the culture during Jesus time can affect the meaning of a passage. They equip us to use and apply what we’ve discovered in the pages of scripture. Sermons by themselves though are only pieces of the puzzle.

On my 13^th birthday, my Mom gave me a “Bible for teens.” Having read other books the same size I decided I would jump right in and read it front to back. There were some crazy stories in there. I had a lot of questions. As a naïve teenager I was shocked to read about David bringing 200 foreskins to the king as payment to marry his daughter! (Had my parents read this book?!)  

With apps like YouVersion you can read any Bible translation anytime, do a word search for a verse you can’t remember, or look up a topic like love. This is handy because my friend has become very familiar with her Bible. She’s so hungry to know God and her questions now require a LOT more investigating. Sassy and quirky, my friend still makes me laugh out loud, and I look forward to our discussions. We challenge each other to be familiar with the stories.

God has a way of making familiar stories new again.

Looking for answers? May I challenge you? Take time to read a story you think you know – like Jonah. Recruit a friend to talk about it. Have questions? Our pastors are always there to help! But I would encourage you to do a little digging yourself. Ask the Holy Spirit to guide you.