Let's be Practical

Bible lessons have morals. This is what we are all brought up to believe, from pre-k to the big people service. And morals always get wrapped up in neat little bows so you can apply them to your life easily. That's the purpose of morals, the purpose of bible lessons, the purpose of reading the bible at all: to learn how to better live our lives. Isn't it? That's why we go to church after all, to socialize/fellowship and hopefully stay awake enough to catch what this week's application for your life should be.

I've heard people complain about lessons that weren't applicable enough, and rave over ones that "really changed their lives". Religion should be applicable (although we don't like to call it religion), and philosophy? Philosophy is worthless. Why ask questions you can't answer? And why have answers if you aren't going to use them to fix problems? Our only efforts to reach out into the void is to find out who we should marry and which social justice group we should give a yearly donation to. Millions of people believe there is a supernatural being communicating with us, and not only that, but this being is the a greatest Being that ever was or ever will be from whence comes all things and who determines our eternities and created our universe and commands legions of angels and most amazing of all, loves us. That is probably the most wonderful, incredible, fantastic thing that anyone could ever believe, and yet, many of the people who believe this treat God like a self-help book.

Maybe we're looking at this wrong. Maybe God didn't reveal Himself to us so we could learn right from wrong, but so that we could learn who He is. Maybe we were created to love and adore, and obedience is just a side effect of that. Maybe we should stop treating the bible as a manual and instead see it as a story, with God not as the author but as the subject. Maybe sometimes it's ok to have a sermon without a nice little application at the end, maybe just seeking who God is can be enough. Maybe sometimes it's ok to ask questions that don't have answers. Maybe sometimes it's ok to realize that we really don't know that much, and that this God whom we call Father is infinitely greater than we could even comprehend. Maybe taking a leap of faith means confronting tough issues, issues you have no way to fix, questions you have no way to answer, doubts that seem to have grounds. Maybe these things are more than ok sometimes, maybe they're important for remembering who God is and who we are. 

Drawing practical applications from the Bible is important, but I don't think that's all. We should definitely seek to live righteously and to help our brothers and sisters in Christ as well as our enemies. These things are crucial. But loving others as yourself is only the second greatest commandment, and perhaps our first priority should be to follow the greatest commandment. For if we love Him, we will seek Him. We will be in wonder at His majesty and we will worship Him. If we love Him, we will want to obey Him and we will seek His will. Then we will do good, and with the right intentions. If we realize even a little who God is, that perspective will cause our lives to change and fall into order after that. This wonder, this impractical worship and curiosity and love for God is the root for everything else in our lives, not the other way around. 

So how can we love God without knowing who He is? How can we find out who He is without asking? And how can we mere mortals ever comprehend the answer? Yet even though we can never contain the whole concept of God in our minds, by asking those questions we perhaps can get a better glimpse. Anything that leads to a better understanding of God is automatically worth it, whether or not it comes with a practical application for our lives.