|Session 5 Summary by Lynda Keren|
How we read the Word of God is seen in how we respond to the man on the street. This session was a study on the parable of the Good Samaritan. The response of the various characters of the parable to the wounded man is an expression of different ways they read and responded to God’s law. It also applies to us, the different ways we read and respond to God’s word.
1. Blessing reading of the Word: The Priest in the parable must have been well-versed in the Scriptures. But he was reading only for selfish reasons, what he can get from God. He was least bothered about anything or anybody else. His life, his godliness and his reading of the Scripture was all centered around himself. Sometimes our godliness and even our reading of Scripture can be limited to what blessing I can receive for my self and nothing beyond that.
2. Job-Description type reading of the word: The Levite in the parable falls into this category. His reading of Scripture was more like a Job Description reading. When there was a wounded man, he couldn’t apply his reading of Scripture to help him.
3. Robbers: The robbers could have been Jews who knew the Scripture. They probably would have known the ten commandments where they would have learned they shouldn’t steal or murder. They chose to disobey what they knew from the Scripture by justifying that they were only doing their job! We can also know the Scripture but fall into this category when we justify our disobedience.
4. Intellectual reading of the Scripture: The lawyer was someone who read the Scripture only to feed his intellectual appetite. He probably knew a lot of Scripture but that was the end of it, nothing beyond. Sometimes our interaction with Scripture can be limited to our intellectual reading of it.
5. Obedience reading of the Scripture: The Samaritan who responded to the wounded man falls into this category of reading the Scripture to obey it. He obeyed what he read and knew.
6. Fulfillment reading of the Scripture: That is how Jesus read the Scripture. It was to fulfill God’s purposes in His life and Ministry. Do we read our Scriptures to know and fulfill God’s plan and purposes in our lives and in lives of those around us?
May God transform the way we read and interact with God’s word.