All scripture is inspired by God
and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction,
and for training in righteousness,
so that everyone who belongs to God
may be proficient, equipped for every good work.
—2 Timothy 3.16-17
This does not say all scripture is infallible,
or dictated by God.
It says those who wrote did so breathing the Holy Spirit.
They may have written something true and profound
(“you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God”)
or not (“ I wish they would castrate themselves”)—
but either way, they were in the grip of something holy,
something living, something beyond them.
And that’s how we read scripture,
with the Holy Spirit breathing in us,
seeking, listening, discerning.
Whether or not we agree or understand,
we are caught up in the breathing of God,
seeking how best to allow God to equip us,
not to be right, but to be inspired (in-spirited) to love.
Proficient in every good work of justice and mercy.
Breathe in…. Breathe out…. Read….
Then go and love.
________________
Steve Garnaas-Holmes
Unfolding Light
www.unfoldinglight.net