back in the day.

Think back… what is the oldest device you can think of that would allow you to move a file from one place to another? Airdrop? Or maybe email? USB drive? Further back… floppy discs!?

Wait for it… Punch Cards??

Too far back?

Let’s just go to pre-digital files and say file folders. You know the ones: the brown, army green, or slightly off-white folders that offices use to move a file from one person to another.

Now, you’ve probably got several other file sharing or file moving ideas in your mind, and that’s great! It means we are thinking in the same lane now.

If we were to time travel back 10, 20, 50, or 1,000 years …and then ask someone to airdrop us a file, obviously no one would have any clue what we were talking about because “airdropping” didn’t exist decades or centuries ago. In some ways, if you were to ask someone today what a punch card or a floppy disc is, you’d likely get a host of different answers.

More importantly, the context of those words are so very different today than what they were just a few decades ago. If we were to say “email me” 100 years ago, any number of things could have happened to us. Mail existed, but not email. Someone may have thought it meant to mail you an E. Or send you somewhere. (You said mail “me.”) You get the point here.

Now let’s think about the implications of this. When we read Paul’s words to churches located throughout what we now call the Middle East, and beyond, there are certainly some things that really require context for them.

If we asked a teenager today what a floppy disc is used for, without providing them any context as to what a floppy disc is, we are bound to get a wide array of answers.

When we are asked the purpose or meaning of something in scripture written not just a few decades ago, but thousands of years ago, it’s important that we understand the weight of the original context and meaning. This isn’t to discourage anyone from reading and understanding God’s Word. It is to encourage us all to ask the Lord to impart His wisdom and discernment to our minds and hearts and seek full answers to the words that were inspired by God himself!

There are so many resources available at our fingertips – via airdrop and more options than have ever existed – that we have no reason not to seek full understanding. Systematic theology course not required. (But also not discouraging continuing education either) 😊

My earnest prayer is that each and every one of us asks the Lord to give us His mind in all wisdom and discernment to understand what He intends for us to receive and know, and ultimately believe.

I’m so grateful He continues to reveal Himself to me when I ask Him. From things that seem overwhelmingly divisive in today’s culture, to things that seem so small and insignificant – He cares for each of us so uniquely, He hears us and speaks to us personally.

What is something you need God to reveal to you in His Word?

Ask Him to speak to you and to show you the truth of His Word by the power of His Spirit.