A Crane & A Bat

A crane dropped a bat into the ocean.

Imagine walking into a room where I am telling a story and that is all you hear. Just that statement. What image do you get when you hear or read that sentence? A crane dropped a bat into the ocean.

It could be a bird crane dropped a bird bat into the ocean. Or a bird crane dropped a baseball bat into the ocean. Or a mechanical crane dropped a bird bat into the ocean. Or a mechanical crane dropped a baseball bat into the ocean. Or maybe, I call a really tall guy a crane and while we were playing ball down on the dock, that chump dropped the only bat we had into the ocean.

There are a few different ways you could look at this. And remember, without knowledge of the first part of the story, all you have to go on is that one crazy statement I made. Add in to this mixture that when you walked in on the left side of the room two other people walked in on the right side of the room and heard this one statement as well. Now, all three of you are left to decipher what is meant by this statement without any further context of the conversation. Will everyone’s interpretation be the same?

This is how I approached the reading of scripture most of my life. Taking only portions of a text and drawing a conclusion from it. I had no idea the context or actual meanings of the words being used, and it did not occur to me to dig and discover what was really being said. So, I usually just sat in a pew or listened to a podcast and went with the speaker’s interpretation of the passage, attaching blinders that would be my guiding force rather than the actual words of God.

I’m hoping this is alarming to you. I hope that this account of my complacency causes you to uncomfortably squirm.  I hope that you realize how disastrous this was for me as someone who wanted to follow Jesus with every ounce of my being. When I realized this, I was overwhelmed with sorrow. I realized that as much as I loved my God, I still completely misunderstood His character because I had failed at seeking to truly understand the logos (divinely inspired word) of my Creator for myself.

Everything my faith was based on originated from a perspective that someone else had imparted to me. Was I reading scripture daily? Yes. But I was reading it with blinders on. I was reading it with pre-conceived notions that already told me what was being said rather than discovering the true mysteries of God for myself.

In Acts, we are told the Bereans tested Paul as he taught about the Messiah. They intimately knew the writings and meticulously searched them to verify what he was teaching. Where is our Berean mindset? Why are we content to sit around and let someone tell us what we reason about the Word of the One True God? We need to know what we know because we know it, not because someone else told us. Do you know scripture enough to test what is being imparted to you through well-meaning teachers?

Knowing the difference between a truth and a lie is not your challenge. Knowing the difference between the truth and almost truth is what snags us up. Satan tempted Eve with twisted words of half-truth and he came after Jesus in the dessert with the same attack. Eve fell for it, Jesus overcame it. Satan’s game is not new. Both of these incidents involve Satan twisting the Word of God ever so slightly in an effort to devour his pray and his tactics have not changed. He is still using the same schemes in an effort to devour his pray and derail us, me and you, from discovering truth and the true character of God. And, we still fall for it.

So, how do we overcome this? How did I dig myself out of the sinkhole of everyone else’s perceptions? I prayed and fasted and begged for Yahweh to open my eyes to His truths. I removed the blinders and pretended I knew nothing of the Word of God. I read every sentence with new eyes and when the Holy Spirit nudged me to investigate the meaning of a word, I dug in with fingers gripped.

I learned how to use a concordance and utilized online tools and apps to get as close as possible to the original text. I learned the law of first mention and explored every nudge to the highest degree possible for my education level. And, I still sought out the knowledge of others, but I did not just take their words and treasure them. I tested them Berean style and let the Holy Spirit guide me to answers. Some answers concurred with other’s findings, some differed. It is important to note that just because someone has a doctorate in theology does not mean they have it right. It means they’ve studied and tried to figure it out but could still have it wrong. Just like me. Just like you. 

I’m slowly beginning my study of Hebrew. I want to understand God’s language and I believe it matters that we try to get as close to the original text as possible. The knowledge of the Hebrew language, especially pictographic Hebrew, lends a whole new understanding to all of scripture. There are several passages that I have a more in-depth, and correct, understanding of after digging into the Hebrew writings of it. So, armed with that little bit of victory, I’m moving forward to take lessons and study my heart out. I’m old and this will be a slow process, but I can and will accomplish this. Until then, I still dig in to the best of my ability. And, I encourage you to do the same.

I hope this doesn’t overwhelm you. I hope it encourages you. I don’t know where you are on your journey but understanding what type of crane dropped what type of bat into the ocean matters so much to your view of the character and love of your Heavenly Father. So, hit your knees, make food a foe, and grab a concordance. I don’t think you’ll be sorry.

Shalom, Peace, Love.