From Concept to Reality

Faith. Fear. Love. Hate. Embracing. Separation. Confusion. Frustration. Anger. Revenge. Peace. Compromise. Wisdom. Choices. Bigger picture. Divine plan. Abraham. Isaac. Jacob. Jesus. Peter. Paul. James and John. Mary the mother. Mary Magdalene. Lydia. Deborah. Ruth. Adam.

This is a reminder that the bible is not fiction, although some things seem a bit fanciful to border reality. The people are real. The accounts are real. What I want us to consider is whether we have crossed the bridge from concept to reality. Do we study and share biblical truths without a real life connection?

Application is the power of revelation. Being a doer of the word, and not a hearer only is proof of crossing over to the reality of a living faith. Just the bible? No. Bible as beginning, as the opening to how we can known and walk closely with God. Bible as the background, bringing us current to know and follow Jesus. Crossing the bridge from concept to reality is us letting the Word be made flesh in our lives. It’s not humanizing the bible as much as it may be spiritualizing our human experience.

It’s studying faith and believing when tested. It’s learning about grit and resilience, and then confidently trusting in the Father’s love to comfort and guide. It’s the Gospel According to [INSERT YOUR NAME HERE] — a growing awareness of just how big God is and where He is when we take a closer look. Are we living what we study and say we believe? Every so often it’s good to check.

Do we arrive at the crossing point and then plant ourselves in doubt, temporarily forgetting how much God loves us and how much enlightening truth He’s deposited in us. Or do we lean in and walk forward, reminding ourselves that in Him is LIGHT and that light is our LIFE? I hope we assess ourselves and find faith is present — a living breathing hope in Jesus. I hope we discover that He is so much bigger than what we study and what we were taught. I hope we are overshadowed by His vast love and honor and truth.

Then I hope we commit again and again to His truth. I hope we allow ourselves to be sons of God, the powerfully revealed truth of His prophecies in the earth. I hope we sit with truth before we run with truth. I hope we try to take in all God wants to reveal and let Him breathe on us, shake us, stir us, challenge and stretch us, convict us, love us, teach us, and broaden and enrich our lives. There is the God we read about, and there is the God we know. I hope the God we know is greater than the God we read about.

After all these years, I find that there is still so much more. Let’s not settle. Let’s go and grow. Let’s be His reflection. Let’s trust and confidently believe. As He is, so are we in this world. Be encouraged, Dear Ones, and cross over.

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Dr. Shaunta Scroggins is the founder of The Bereans’ Commentary.