I grew up hearing and reading the King James Version of the Bible, though I often didn’t have a clue about what some of the antiquated words meant. When was the last time you sprinkled your casual conversations with “emerods” (1 Samuel 6:11), and “collop” (Job 15:27)? I don’t particularly miss words used 400 years ago that are now archaic and obscure. But I do miss the red letters highlighting the words of Jesus.
Even using contemporary words, certain passages of scripture are difficult to discern and open to a wide array of interpretation. What are we to do with differing perspectives on occasionally controversial topics that do not have easy answers? In the spirit of K-I-S-S (keep it simple, seeker), it makes sense to me to focus primarily on The Word of God: JESUS. Since He alone is the Way and the Truth and the Life, since He is the Light of the World and our only Savior, it seems best to listen to His words and watch His life.
Gospel stories help us see what Jesus did, how He lived, who He spent time with, what He taught…much of what is written in the Biblical books that follow are simply accounts and counsel from His disciples who were attempting to live gospel lives in their culture. Because we’re not called to follow Jesus in their culture, we must humbly follow the heart and will of Jesus for His people in our culture in this century. Surely the best way to do that is to listen to Him, watch Him, follow Him…and live Him in our world today.
Though all scriptures are useful, not all scriptures bear the same influence. For our benefit, Jesus prioritized the two greatest commandments: Love God and love everyone else (Matthew 22:37-40). Jesus talked much more about serving than He did about studying. He focused more on how we should treat other people than on how we should “do” church. I fear that some of the issues that give us heartburn give Jesus heartache. I wonder how many times He might say to us, “you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed” (Luke 11:41,42)?
I miss the red letters. They helped the words of THE WORD stand out for me. The lyrics of a song by DC Talk underscore these same sentiments:
Hear the words divinely spoken
May your restless heart be broken…
There is love in the red letters
There is truth in the red letters
There is hope for the hopeless
Peace and forgiveness
There is life in the red letters!
Let’s go for broke and live in the red.
Dennis Lynn
