Jumping into the River

and why getting wet is great

Do you ever think that if we could just go back in time and live during the early church days, then we’d understand what Paul was saying in his letters? If we could only re-create the historical context, know the language and how it was used, if we could be part of the house church in Ephesus, see the miracles happen before our eyes, hear a prophet, listen to the Apostle Paul himself, . . . then we’d have some sort of “aha!” moment and know what we needed to do. We’d understand how we ought to do church and live as Christians.

M. Robert Mulholland Jr. and his book Shaped by the Word are gently removing any inkling of such thoughts from my thinking.

While yes, researching the historical context and learning koine Greek will certainly help us understand the situations Paul addressed in the early church, Paul’s message to the churches was about faith in Christ whereby we receive every good thing and are made fit to do every good work. Everything needed for discernment, godliness, and good works has been made available to us already.

To study the Bible to determine what I ought to do is like fishing in a river when I ought to be jumping in. Fishermen approach the water intending to get something out of it, namely, fish for dinner. Swimmers approach the water intending to leave the shore behind, to get wet head to toe, to give up their footing, and to submit to where the river will take them.

It’s the difference between reading scripture to be a master versus reading scripture to be mastered by God. It’s the difference between approaching God to get my needs met versus approaching God to transform me through my surrender and his companionship.

“We often are not looking for a transforming encounter with God. We are more often seeking some tidbits of information that will enhance our self-protective understanding of the Christian faith without challenging or confronting the way we live in the world” (Mulholland, 54).

“It is much easier to bring the scripture under the control of our false self, to narrow it down to our definition of the Christian life, and to use it to defend our false self against all challenges, even God’s” (Mulholland, 55).

“We go all the way through the text telling it what we want it to tell us.” (Mulholland, 56).

If floating down a river is like living with faith in Christ, every once in a while, I get stuck on sandy banks. The lure of dry land draws me out of the Christ-current. Sometimes, I get stuck on rocks or branches sticking up out of the river. The water piles up at my back and life becomes intolerable. Sometimes, because it gets too uncomfortable, I climb out of the water altogether and begin to dry off. I revert to my old ways of surviving and coping and approaching God and his word as if he were a river to fish instead of a place to swim.

There’s no way to understand the river from the banks. There’s no way to understand God’s word without giving up everything in faith. Outside the river, the New Testament becomes a code book that we try to master instead of a current into which we bathe.

Praise God, he doesn’t leave us high and dry. His spirit whispers what parts of the old life must be shed. He gives us the instructions all over again. ”Let go of needing this power. Let go of having to know. Let go of your determination to tame scripture. Let go of needing answers. Now, jump!”

A spiritual wide-openness comes when I find the person of God instead of finding my self-soothing answers in scripture. There’s laughter and even a little chuckling at myself. “Hehe, what a fool I was standing there on the banks of the river, afraid to get wet.”

The deep waters of God’s love, power, and wisdom buoy me up with delight. It’s in those moments that I can’t help but call to others. “Come in! Don’t be afraid. The water is wonderful!”

M. Robert Mulholland Jr. Shaped by the Word: The Power of Scripture in Spiritual Formation. (Upper Room Books: Nashville, 2000.)