Pictures

I take tons of pictures. When I used film-based cameras, I took too many pictures; now that pictures are digital, I really overdo it.  

Pictures help tell a story of a particular point in time. When I look back at pictures from years ago, they help me recall significant events, funny moments, and cherished memories of loved ones. 

Here's the inherent challenge: a picture only records one moment in time, and by itself it cannot give us a complete perspective. A picture may be worth a thousand words, as the saying goes, but it still fails to convey anything to our senses of hearing or smell or taste or touch. A picture provides only a small glimpse of a brief moment in a person's life. 

Why have I brought up this topic? I have three interrelated thoughts about how this idea applies to our study of the Bible.

1) The words of the Bible give us many pictures of the character and nature of God. Each picture by itself is fully true, yet incomplete. We do our best to assemble the snapshots and understand how they all fit together, but our understanding is not as complete as we might really wish it to be. Still, each picture is a valuable revelation of His character. 

2) The words of the Bible give us many pictures of history. Still, there are huge gaps. Two thousand years of history are condensed into the chapters of Genesis. Large periods of time are summarized by only a few verses here and there in Scripture. Three years of Jesus' earthly ministry are conveyed all too briefly in the words of the gospels.

3) The words of the Bible give us many pictures of the future. Each picture helps us know valuable details, but they are merely snapshots. These pictures cannot begin to convey the glories of heaven, the horrors of hell, or the moment-by-moment details of the Great Tribulation. We study these pictures and we stand boldly on the things that the Bible clearly teaches, but we hold with a loose grip those things we fill in as we try to pull those pictures together.

As hard as it may be, we need to become content with not having every detail. God has told us so much, and we can study His revelation - the Bible - fervently so we can know its teachings well. We want to dwell on the things we know, and be content with the things we don't know or don't completely understand. 

One day when we are in the presence of God in heaven, we may learn more detail that will fill in some of the gaps in our understanding. For now, we rest in knowing that God is the sovereign Author of history and of the future. We live daily with gratitude for the many snapshots God has given us - snapshots of His holiness, His love, His grace, and His invitation to us to know Him more. And we fill in the gaps with our faith and trust in Him.