“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who give generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.” – James 1:5
If you’ve ever sat on the bank of a river, it becomes quickly obvious how years of constant flowing water have carved out deep grooves in the earth. Now, imagine how difficult it would be to redirect a river out of its long-time groove into a completely new channel going in a different direction.
Chicago was the world’s fastest-growing city in the early to mid-19th century. The problem was that people got their drinking water from Lake Michigan, which was being polluted by the Chicago River. Waste of every kind was dumped into the river, which then carried the filth into the drinking water. At the risk of being a bit graphic, if your washing machine or flushed toilet also served as your drinking water, you’d get some sense of the urgency to resolve this very serious problem.
A very complicated and expensive solution was proposed by engineer Sylvester Chesbrough. His plan was to reverse the direction of the Chicago River so that it flowed away from Lake Michigan and towards the Mississippi River. Successful, this ambitious project is considered one of the most impressive engineering feats in American history, enabling the survival of the city of Chicago, which is now the nation’s third-largest city. (1)
In the New Testament, the one book that is reminiscent of the Chicago River project is the book of Hebrews. To rightly interpret and apply Hebrews, God the Holy Spirit needs to redirect and renew your mind.
As you read Hebrews, in full disclosure, it is one of the more difficult books of the New Testament to read for many Christians. A Bible commentator says,
For contemporary readers, however, Hebrews is one of the most difficult New Testament books to understand, and as a result it has often been neglected. Old Testament quotations and allusions abound while details about Israel’s priesthood and sacrificial system dominate much of the book. Many of the author’s arguments employ typological similarities that are difficult to grasp—for example, between old and new, temporal and eternal, or earthly and heavenly. (2)
Despite this being the most difficult book to read in the New Testament, God will open our minds to understand what He is speaking through it.
Tomorrow we begin a discussion on the differences in Western and Eastern thinking.
Pray and ask God to open your mind to understand this incredible book on a deeper level.
(1) https://interactive.wttw.com/chicago-river-tour/how-chicago-reversed-river-animated
(2) Peter T. O’Brien, The Letter to the Hebrews, The Pillar New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI; Nottingham, England: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2010), 1.
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