You've heard about a perceptive individual. maybe you've been perceptive at times in some situations. Perception is a spiritual gift that helps us navigate aspects of everyday life. Perception comes in more than handy when slmost every solution looks right and all the inputs add up right but something still feels wrong, or at least a little "off".
Is perception insight? Is perception the sum of what we already know about what's going on? Is it a "sixth sense" that sneaks in when the other five aren't enough? Maybe perception is all of those and even more.
When we read scripture, do we need to be perceptive? I heard how a seminary professor told his students not to assume the bible is an obscure document that's almost impossible for any human to understand. And don't assume the bible is easy to perceive and offers everything at face value without any need for prayer, study, reflection, conversation, or waiting on the Holy Spirit. So, do we need to be perceptive reading scripture?
According to what i just wrote, although interpretation always is about the Holy Spirit, haven't you discovered that at times the meaning of a passage just zaps you almost instantly with insight and perception, and other times you pray, consider, read commentaries, sleep on it, discuss it with others, and still wonder what it means?
Thanks for reading what I currently perceive about perception.
The Bible spins me round and round
ReplyDeletejust like a dancing squirrel,
and spinning I fall to the ground
and there, I cannot whirl,
but listen to the words I've read
that God speaks to my mind,
the words that are now wholesome bread
I may consume to find
that it was simple, all along,
that my pride complicated things,
that being childlike's to be strong,
and that uncluttered heart has wings
that can through bright Scripture soar,
up to Heaven's golden door.