What's Your Message?

Study to show yourself approved to God, a workman that needs not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. 

2 Timothy 2:15 

 

I have to be honest, I was not an especially good student in school.  I didn't like studying at all, because in my mind, when school let out for the day that was MY time and school was the absolute last thing on my mind.  On Saturday nights before bed, I was supposed to polish my "church shoes" and "study my Sunday School lesson."  Truth be told, I watched TV while I polished my shoes and them skimmed over the first paragraph of the lesson.  You see, I KNEW that my Sunday School teacher and the Pastor would tell me what I needed to know, and I let them.

 

Many years later, things didn't seem to make sense to me.  I mean, I had heard lessons about how we're not supposed to work on Sunday because it's a day of rest, then I'd see these same people going to restaurants and shopping and the like.  When I questioned them on that, I was told "Well, you have to understand, these people are going to work on Sunday anyway..."   What I took from that was the notion that "these people" were seen as less valuable than the "church-going folk."  And I began to question what I had been taught for so long.

 

It was when I began to study, TRULY study, the Scriptures that things began to make more sense to me.  By study, I mean learn about the time in history when the particular passage was written: what was going on, what was the culture like, what do the words REALLY mean, how does all of it fit together.  STUDY!  

 

Believe it or not, Jesus did NOT speak King James English to those to whom He ministered.  Jesus talked with people in ways THEY could understand!  Jesus proved His message by His actions!  Shouldn't we do the same thing?  If we live our message, what message are others seeing us live?