Stretched

I was raised Lutheran. It makes me kind of sad to even say that. It feels like I should say that I was raised Christian—and I was—but I had always gone to a Lutheran church. Once my husband and I were married, we also chose to go to a Lutheran church. So, the doctrines were familiar, the teachings similar, even from church to church. We did Bible study with people who had also been raised Lutheran. We sat in circles, mostly agreeing, seldom really questioning—more often firming up the shores of our long-held traditions and beliefs, lest anyone think of becoming Baptist or something!

So, when I quit my job to follow Jesus, one of the first things he did was lead me to a Baptist church. When I couldn’t make it to the ladies’ study at my little country—very Lutheran—church, I found myself attending a Bible study at a Baptist church that was very inter-denominational. There were Baptists, Reformers, and Lutherans, among others. We still sat in circles, but we didn’t always agree. I found myself questioning. They brought up passages we never really addressed, and they interpreted things in ways that I had never heard. I was being stretched.

The best thing was that all this questioning drove me straight to the source I should have been searching diligently from the start—the Bible! Imagine that . . . a Bible study that actually got me studying the Bible! And study it, I did. I began to be so hungry for what God’s word actually said. Not just what I had been told, or what Lutherans have deemed right—but what did it really say. Our little debates weren’t always comfortable, but we were growing in our knowledge and in our faith. We dubbed ourselves Scripture Sisters—we even had t-shirts made!

I have come to realize that is true in so many areas of life, really. I hung out with family and friends who were raised much like I was, saw the world much like I did. We sat in circles, too, around tables, in lawn chairs, floating in pods at the lake, mostly agreeing, seldom really questioning—repairing the slats on the picket fence that kept us in . . . and others out.

So, now, as God has me stepping way out of the bounds of my picket fence, I find myself being stretched once again. Things I thought I knew were right or true are in the line of fire. Long-held beliefs, “wisdom” that I was certain of, are now being challenged by new information, new perspectives . . . new people. From parenting, to working, to leisure—my worldview was taking some hits. For someone who needs to be “right”—who always thinks she is “right”! —this was stretching me, to be sure. Conversations are often not as comfortable. I find myself once again being challenged. Do I stand firm on my position or consider assuming the position someone else is taking? Is there some truth in each position? What is “right”?!

The answer is no different than it was before. The answer comes from God’s word. Biblical doctrine seeps inevitably into every opinion, every value, every stance we take—on anything . . . or at least it should. From parenting, to working, to leisure. If I want to be “right,” I better stay hungry for the Word. Because I don’t want to just win the debate . . . I want to be right. And if I am taking the light into this dark world, I surely want to bring truth. Not some worldly-influenced, indoctrinated “truth.” The Truth.

“One of you says, “I follow Paul”; another, “I follow Apollos”; another, “I follow Cepha”; still another, “I follow Christ.” Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized in the name of Paul?”

1 Corinthians 1:12-13 NIV

“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”

2 Timothy 3:16-17 NIV

“Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life.

No one comes to the Father except through me.”

John 14:6 NIV