Week Three: I Got Nothing

Week Three has found our group approximately a quarter of the way through the Bible.  It's been tedious at times, exhilarating at others.  I'm glad I signed up to do this.

That said, I didn't really have any fantastic moments of insight this week.  I didn't even have any real "Yes!" moments when it all fit together and I couldn't wait to sit down and translate my still slightly jumbled thoughts into an intelligible blog post.  There were moments, of course, when I noticed how neatly God works.  In one chapter of Judges, the son of the concubine rises up against his half-brothers and the Lord.  A couple chapters later, the son of a prostitute is driven away by his half-brothers only to be called back by the people to lead them in the power of the Lord.  I enjoyed the reading and believed it worthwhile, beneficial, and many times beautiful, but didn't feel grandly inspired.  As I laid beside a sleepy toddler, thinking what I'd write this week, I had to admit, "I got nothin'."

Which is just fine.

Too often, we approach the Scriptures eagerly anticipating the sort of revelation that cannot be kept secret.  We want to walk away with new insight, new conviction, new inspiration.  In the absence of such newness, we sometimes give up and walk away, deeming either Scripture uninspiring or ourselves uninspired.

What we might forget is that the Bible, like its Giver, is not a magic pill.  We are not guaranteed specific, dramatic results every time we read the Bible or say a prayer.  The Christian life is a relationship with God through Jesus Christ, and just as in any human relationship, sometimes rendezvous aren't all that smashing.  We still need to get together, though.  First, because if we don't persist through uninspired days, weeks, even years, then we are unlikely ever to experience anything of another person - or in the case of Scripture reading, of God himself - worth experiencing, let alone putting into words.  Second, because sometimes gathering by candlelight with one is more magnificent than fireworks with a crowd.  Sometimes we need a boring night at home with the ones closest to us, even if no one speaks a word.

So I guess even having "got nothin'," I did get something:  A casual, unimposing evening at home with the King.

And that is something marvelous.