Man or Monkey?!

Hope all of you enjoyed the first day of the New Year today! We passed our last evening of 2006 playing Scrabble with my parents! We are just two wild and crazy kids! Scott won thanks to his use of all 7 tiles on "massacre"-- a 50 point bonus.

The first Sunday of the New Year also brought a great lesson at church. Tim showed a clip from Leno where he interviewed people on their Bible knowledge. If you have ever seen any of his "Jay-Walking" segments, then you know how pathetic the answers were. Who was swallowed by a big fish?-- Pinocchio. What did Joseph receive that made his brothers jealous?-- a new car.

Anyway-- his point was that basic Biblical knowledge-- even within the church has declined greatly over the past 50 years. Statistics bear this out. We live in a culture where 12% of people think Noah's wife was Joan of Arc ("ark?!").

I have always been extremely good at Bible facts. My dad would do Bible flash cards with us before bedtime-- always accompanied with a Bible story read out of our big white Bible story book. It was just something that was always emphasized, and I thankfully have retained much of the knowledge I learned as a child.

It is sad that the "Church of Christ" used to be widely regarded as a fellowship who knew its Bible. For better or worse, we were known as people who could quote book, chapter, and verse on just about any topic. That doesn't ring true today. It is simply not a priority in most of our churches or families today.

Tim actually passed out a "Bible quiz" and had everyone spend close to 15 minutes testing his/her basic Bible knowledge. Questions like, "Who wrote Philemon? A. Peter B. Paul C. Philemon D. Onesimus (Answer= B. Paul) He went over the answers. My score? 21 correct out of 25. Not too bad considering I was trying to pacify Luke and keep him from stealing my pen the entire time!

I really want Luke to grow up knowing the Bible. It weighs on me heavily. I want to make sure that I do my part to teach him all the great stories-- from the major to the obscure-- like my personal favorite tidbit of Bible trivia from my youth-- King Og had a bed 13½ feet long and 6 feet wide (Deut. 3:11). I even have an entire set of Bible flannel graphs to use on a flannel board-- a favorite memory of my Sunday school days. Yes, I know I am a nerd...

One of Tim's last points-- The difference between a monkey and a man? A monkey looks at a telescope, a man looks through a telescope. The Bible is an amazing telescope which gives us great insight into the heart of God and all the answers to life. We need to learn to look through the Bible and see its wonderful truths instead of just looking "at" it and never fully grasping the bigger picture.

All the Bible facts in the world can't replace a genuine, meaningful relationship with Him. That is ultimately the most important thing, but treasuring His words in our hearts is also important, too. It helps shape our souls and attitudes in His likeness and ways.

So-- my New Year's resolution is too spend more time in the Word-- not just reading for reading's sake, but really trying to glean wisdom and guidance from the Author Himself.