August 28, 2013
The First Letter
Categories: Biblical
Let’s say I sent you a letter… a long letter that reveals who I am, what I stand for, what I love/hate, et cetera. You receive the letter, but you don’t read it; you put on a table in your living room, and you forget about it.
A month later, I send you another letter: it quotes a lot from the first letter; but this one is shorter – say about 5 pages. This letter you take home; and in the interest of time, you start to read from page 3 to the end.
Question: Can you say that you have a good understanding of who I am, based on what you read?
My guess (to your answer) is ‘no’. In fact, if you told me you only read a part of the second letter, I myself would be convinced that you didn’t know much about me; and what you do know may be skewed at best.
That’s partially because if you’re trying to understand someone, you need to understand them from the beginning.
And if I wouldn’t appreciate it, and you wouldn’t (I presume) in the same situation…
…how do you think God feels about referring to His first letter as ‘old’?
* * *
The analogy above was made to relate to our understanding of the two Testaments: the Old and New Testaments of the Bible.
Reading portions of the second letter isn’t enough… we have to delve more deeply into the first letter to understand more clearly what God is saying in the second one.
No comments yet.