“One day an expert in religious law stood up to test Jesus by asking him this question: ‘Teacher, what should I do to inherit eternal life?’
26 Jesus replied, ‘What does the law of Moses say? How do you read it?’
27 The man answered, ‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.’ And, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ [a]
28 ‘Right!’ Jesus told him. ‘Do this and you will live!’”
Jesus answered a question with a question knowing that the “expert in religious law” was trying to debate this fact. But in this we find a great answer that can easily be overlooked. Jesus says, ‘What does the law of Moses say? How do you read it?’ This tells us that any question we have about life, has an answer found in scripture. Many times the problem isn’t what the Bible says, its how we read it or interpret it.
When read in context, (meaning reading the passage before and after as well as understanding the setting, people, place, and time) we see the truth of what the Bible says. Unfortunately, the Bible has been twisted and taken out of context to try to justify agendas or lifestyles. It all depends on how you come to the Bible when you read it. Do you come to shape what you believe and how you live by what the Bible says, or do you come to shape the Bible into what you believe and how you live?
When it comes to questions of how to live, where do you go to find answers?
Dan Gould 