Centered

Does anyone else ever find themselves making Scripture about themselves? Reading for who we are more than we read for who God is? 

It's so easy to do. To receive the good news for us that is made possible in God before we dwell in the good news of who God is. To receive the privileges and identity of our salvation without first rejoicing that He took on our price and died that we may have that life and be joined to Him. To know and understand that reality but to take it for granted as I look for how it affects me or what it means to me before I look to Him and delight in Him and am moved to praise for Him. 

We can easily center ourselves in Scripture in a way that makes a lie, that fuels our misconceptions, that results in an inaccurate picture of who God is and who we are, but this is not always the case. Being too quick on application doesn't mean we are inherently creating a falsehood. It doesn't even mean we are refraining from praise. But when we center God in our reading, when we remember Him as our source instead of keeping that reality in the background, our praise becomes deeper and the truth about us becomes more impactful in light of who He is.

The Bible teaches us about who we are--the psalms in particular show the cry of our hearts in joy, despair, lament, anger, exhilaration, thirst, surrender, etc.--but the most important thing it will ever reveal is who God is. We read to learn about God, and under His character our nature and identity are revealed.

Here's an example of reading for who we are: 

I am on steady ground. I receive salvation. I am extended goodness and mercy. I am with God.

Versus an example on reading for who God is:

God is a rock, a foundation, a steady, immovable place (Ps. 62). God is the only source of salvation because He took on our price and died that we may live; He joined us to God. God's goodness and mercies overflow because He is intrinsically good and He delights to show mercy; they come out of Him. God invites us into His house because He is a God of love and relationship, and He protects us and cares for us.

The first example is as true as the second, and we need that personal application, but it's so much richer when that personal application comes through the weight and reality of who God is. Of reckoning with that. That is the very power behind the truth of who we are; without Him our security is nothing but a platitude. But when that security is founded in His very nature, it is an unshakeable source of comfort. Because when our identity feels unsteady, His is steadfast. 

I am not the one centered in Scripture. The story is not about me, but I'm in it because God placed me there, wanted me there--another testimony to who He is. 

When we read Scripture, our focus should always be primarily on who He is. Shifting our focus to Him doesn't change the truth about us but deepens it in God's character, our security in Him, and His glory, leading us to praise not for our comforts but for His character. We are safe in our position with God as followers of Christ, but God is bigger than our position. 

I love this picture of dandelion seeds because if we pick a dandelion, we receive its beauty, but that’s all we get. But when we pick these seeds, they spread through the world and take root, reaping greater growth. 

"I am secure" will always fall flat, but "God is secure and secures us" is the truth that keeps me secure because it's not affected by any of my circumstances or shortcomings but is founded in the very nature of my unchanging God. And that's the most confident hope we can have. 

That's the beauty that Scripture reveals. It's all His story. It's all a testimony to who He is. And that's good news.