Authentic Faith and the Bible

Psalm 23
[This message was shared with the people of Friendship Church on October 9, 2005.]

The author Flannery O’Connor once told a story which, the first time I read it, was retold by the late Lutheran theologian, Joseph Sittler. Sittler loved it and after retelling it, reflected on its meaning.

It’s the story of an elderly couple who lived in the Appalachians, surrounded by breathtaking views. They were accustomed to sitting in rocking chairs on the front porch of their home for as long as the weather allowed, simply taking in the same sights they’d seen hundreds of days before in their long married life. One spring day, they were doing the same thing, silently rocking and looking.

“Well, Sarah,” the husband said to his wife. “I see there’s still some snow up there on the mountain.” [Sittler then reflects:] Now they both knew that there would still be some snow on that mountain at this time of the year; there always was. So why did he say so? Because just to know that at times there’s snow, while at other times there isn’t, was to be able to embrace the shifting but eternal rhythms of life that had made them so content with each other’s company. In any marriage or intimate relationship you may say the same things, just like that, time after time; you may share a profound and compassionate interest in the same people. And while, on the one hand, this might seem so...boring; on the other hand it is simply breathtaking in its way of affirming the joy of life, and of living with someone that you love.

They say that familarity breeds contempt. It can also breed indifference. But if we let it, as was true of this old couple, familiarity can also breed things that are wonderful--”breathtaking,” as Sittler puts it: comfort, confidence, and assurance, for example.

One of the most familiar chapters in the entire Bible is Psalm 23. To prove it, a preacher I read about this past week did something I’m going to do right now. I’ll recite the first clause of a phrase and out loud, you finish it.

“The Lord is my shepherd....”

“He makes me lie down in...”

“Even though I walk through the valley of...”

“Surely goodness and mercy shall...”

You see, you are familiar with Psalm 23.

And yet, I wonder if our familiarity with Psalm 23 and with the entire Bible from which it comes has bred in us comfort, confidence, and assurance, as it should do, or indifference? Almost everybody owns a Bible. But not many of us read it, digest it, study it, absorb it, or give it a central place in our lives. We don’t allow the Bible the time it needs to help us know the God Who wants to be our good shepherd or to teach us what difference that makes.

If we did, more churches would be more vibrant centers of mission.

More of we Christians would be making sounder decisions about our lives.

More of us would be loving and serving our neighbors.

More of us would be engaged in ministries, serving Christ through our churches.

And more of us would be inviting others to worship and to know Jesus Christ.

You see, authentic faith, faith that helps us face everyday living and gives us hope forever, is strengthened when we read God’s love letter to the human race: the Bible.

Another familiar passage from the Psalms confesses to God, “Your Word is a lamp to my feet and light to my path.”

And in the New Testament, the apostle Paul reminds a young pastor named Timothy, “There’s nothing like the written Word of God for showing you the way to salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. Every part of the Scripture is God-breathed and useful one way or another--showing us truth, exposing our rebellion, correcting our mistakes, training us to live God’s way. Through the Word we are put together and shaped up for the tasks God has for us.”

Today, world leaders are holding their breath, waiting for a viral strain known as H5N1 or the Avian Flu virus to mutate, making it possible for this deadly disease to be passed along from human to human, which it currently can’t do. Public health officials tell us that this disease, which is fatal 50% of the time and takes only three days to kill a person, could bring death to anywhere between 5- and 150-million people worldwide. Repetitions of events like September 11 in this country, March 11 in Madrid, the bombings in London, last December’s tsunami, the recent hurricanes along our Gulf Coast and in Central America, and the earthquake that just hit south Asia combined aren’t as threatening to the world as an Avian Flu pandemic could be. That’s why national leaders are drawing up plans to deal with this threat. It would be pure foolishness for them not to make such plans.

Christians who don’t read and study the Bible regularly--or who don’t worship regularly, pray regularly, fellowship with others regularly, or receive the blessings that go with service, giving, and inviting others to worship with them regularly--are setting themselves up for disaster.

We live in an imperfect world. Bad things happen. Temptations come to us. Accidents and disease may come to us. Relational discord may come to us. If we’re not reading God’s Word as a regular part of our daily routine--or engaged in the other habits of real life discipleship that we’re considering right now, life will knock us flat as quickly as the Avian Flu takes its victims or as the tsunami wiped out so many last year.

In a way, the message of the whole Bible is summed up well in Psalm 23. Psalm 23 tells us five important things about God, our good shepherd:

• that He provides for us;
• that He allows us to be at ease, confident that if we will let Him into our lives, He’s with us no matter what;
• that He gives us life;
• that He stands with us in dark times, even when we die; and
• that He welcomes us to be with Him forever.

I sometimes hear people say, “Well, I believe in God. What do I need to mess with reading the Bible or worshiping or any of the other so-called disciplines of the Christian life for? If I’m freed from sin and death simply for believing in Jesus, I don’t need all that stuff.”

Let me tell you a true story.

Shortly after I learned how to ride a bicycle, I begged my Mom to send me on an errand to Gus’ IGA near the corner of Central and Sullivant Avenues in the section of Columbus called the Bottoms, where we lived at the time. I had a little twenty-four inch, beat-up blue Schwinn bike, a hand-me-down from my cousins. I’d grown tired of using it just to tool around the neighborhood or the blacktop in front of the warehouse behind our place.

Besides, Gus had a daughter named Mary Ann and she absolutely made my eight year old heart go pitter-pat.

My mother was resistant to the whole idea of my trekking to Gus' store. Sullivant and Central were busy thoroughfares.

But one day she’d started to fix something and she realized that she didn’t have a key ingredient on hand, tomatoes--for one of my favorite dishes to this day, Johnny Marzetti. My two year old sister Kathy needed attending and for some reason, we were down to one car at the time. So, Mom felt she had no choice but to send me to Gus’ for the tomatoes. She called me in from playing baseball out in the alley to give me my mission.

I was psyched out of my mind! Here was an important errand I could run on my own...and I might get to see Mary Ann in the bargain. “Remember, sliced tomatoes in the can,” my mother called out to me as I climbed onto my bike and pedaled off.

By the time I got to Gus’ five minutes later, I had completely forgotten what I was supposed to buy. I had to ask Gus to dial my home number--BR9-0502, so that I could ask my mother to repeat her order. After I got off the phone and had paid for the tomatoes, I asked where Mary Ann was and learned she wasn’t even around. A little disappointed, but still proud to be on such an important mission, I started riding back home.

I decided to approach my street, Thomas Avenue, by way of an alley that had a major incline to it. I suppose you'd say a major decline because it sloped down to Thomas. I started riding down that hill without looking to my right or left, just rolling downhill to the street. A car came along just as I approached the end of the hill. Boom! I hit the side of that passing car. Fortunately, neither I or the car were hurt. But I didn’t tell my mother what had happened until years later.

Now, here’s the point: In the blink of an eye, I had forgotten that I was supposed to get tomatoes. I’d forgotten that I should look both ways when turning onto a street. I’d even forgotten, apparently, how to use my brakes. I was so consumed with thoughts of being a big shot and of seeing Mary Ann, that the important things I knew and needed to remember got crowded out of my brain.

The same thing can happen to you and me when it comes to the most important thing in the world, our relationship with Jesus Christ. We can become so consumed with everyday life that we forget our Good Shepherd and our daily need of Him. Reading and studying God’s Word is one important tool God uses to daily remind us to keep building our lives on Him and His promises.

People of real faith read God’s Word regularly because we know we need these reminders. In a bad news world, it’s too easy to forget the Good News of God’s love, given to us through Jesus Christ.

Make daily Bible reading, guided maybe by the devotions in Our Daily Bread, a regular part of your life.

And why not join us this Tuesday for our weekly Bible study?

Don’t let your familiarity with the Bible breed indifference. Spend time with God through the Bible and you will know God better and you’ll be ready for your mission and you'll be ready to face whatever life brings your way!