Who or What is the center of your life? In making this determination, what is the proper role of the Bible?

Maybe I fret over this too often, and maybe I write about it too much. If so, well, forgive me. Here it comes again.

Ask the question -- Who or What is the center of your life?

This, ultimately, is the most important question you will ever ask. In biblical terms, the question sounds something like this:

Mark 8:27 (NKJV)
²⁷ Now Jesus and His disciples went out to the towns of Caesarea Philippi; and on the road He asked His disciples, saying to them, "Who do men say that I am?"

This question is asked by Jesus of the disciples, most likely of the Twelve, the Apostles. We deduce this from the ultimate answer -- by Peter.

Mark 8:29 (NKJV)
²⁹ He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" Peter answered and said to Him, "You are the Christ."

So, by answering, or not answering my question, you are also providing an answer to Jesus' question. Who is the most important person in your life? If it is not Jesus you have missed the entire process. At the same time, my question could be worded by saying What is the most important thing in your life?

Now the question becomes a little harder. This question suggests we eliminate God and Jesus and spouse and parents and children from the equation. So, how do you answer?

In making this determination, what is the proper role of the Bible? Perhaps, the Bible should be the correct answer to my question. Just as the Who is Jesus, the What is the Bible.

We live 2,000 years after Jesus walked the earth. We do not have direct revelation knowledge from Him. He generally does not appear in our dreams. He does not talk to us in visions. No, the way He talks to us in through the Words of the Bible. There is no other method for understanding Jesus, for understanding God, for understanding ourselves within the framework of mankind and God. Yet . . .

I am an avid reader of commentaries and other theological works. I am amazed at the number of scholars who appear to start with the presumption that tradition, or history, or reason, other scholars are on equal footing with the words of the Bible. In the minds of many so-called Christians, the Bible is merely part of the formula. The Bible may contain myths. It may speak to you through the power of the Holy Spirit, but at the same time it may not speak to me. The options appear to be almost endless.

I read about analytical frameworks, and theological frameworks, and historical frameworks, as well as contextual frameworks. Almost no where do I read about God's Words in the Holy Scriptures as being the norm. If the Bible is not truth, if the Bible is not God's Word, then, what is it?

The Bible says it is the Word of God. I know, scholars will quarrel with me on this point. But the Bible says "thus saith the Lord." That, to me, sounds like God speaking.

If it is not God speaking, then how do I really, truly, completely (from my perspective) come to know God? If the Bible is not 100% the Word of God, then how do I determine which parts of the Bible are God speaking and which parts are just man's views? There is no way to separate the two voices -- no way that will always produce the same result.

If you are a post-modern child, you will tell me this is ok. Tolerance, in the sense of each of us believing what we want and let the other person alone, is the "in thing." This means that we do not have to produce the same result every time. If this is true, then I guess Jesus is God today, but not tomorrow? Such a result is absurd.

God is God. I think even the liberals would agree this is true. I think the atheists would agree that if there were a God, He would always be God. It seems to me, however, that we have a group of "Christians" out there in the world who would have us believe that some days, God is not God. No wonder Christianity has such a bad name.

So, what is the most important thing in the world to you? It should be the Bible. Not the KJV or the NIV or the NASB or the family Bible on the coffee table or the beat-up, falling apart copy you have carried for twenty years, but the Bible, the Word of God in whatever copy or form is handy at the moment. This is what makes God so unique. He wants us to understand Him and His plans. He wants us to believe in Jesus. We will never know everything about God. That is one of the unchanging differences between mankind and God. He is God, we are not. Yet, to the extent we can understand Him, He has provided us with a guidebook for finding Him. That book is the Bible.

Read it today. Believe what it says. Treat it as the Word of God. Amazing things will happen in your life.

Jim A