Let me explain that. I read about a university student and his friends who went through all the books of the Bible cutting out the verses dealing with poverty, wealth, justice and oppression. When finished, they were left with a Bible that could barely be held together.
Why would they do this??
When standing in front of a group of people he replied while holding up the mangled Bible; “This is our Bible full of holes. Each one of us might as well take our Bibles, a pair of scissors, and begin cutting out all the scriptures we pay no attention to and ignore”.
Wow.
That really impacted me. I’ve decided to do this. I want this visual constantly in front of my face to remind me what my faith is really about… what this life is really about… what God Himself is concerned with. I want my kids to know this and have it serve our family as a reminder that our neighbor IS our responsibility. That we need to care. We can’t save the world, but we can reach those who are within the reach of our arms.
So yes, I’m cutting these verses out of a Bible I bought online for $3. I’m on Exodus (the 2nd book in the Bible) and am already amazed at how much is missing. Some pages I’ve been tempted just to rip out altogether due to the page hanging by a thread of paper.
I don’t want to ignore this anymore. I don’t want to live in my prosperous bubble, blind to the needs not just around the world, but around the corner from my house. God is clearly concerned for the least of these, how can I not be? I want to be a rebel to the culture that screams: ME FIRST. A culture that says I need "more" when I have so much already
Whether you are a person of faith, or if you’re not sure what you believe in this life, I hope that you can go past all the images of “church” and the word “christian” to hear the heartbeat of God in this demonstration.
Maybe you wouldn’t "cut up a Bible" (I don't recommend we all do that), but maybe it’s time to get back to seeing how much God really talks about caring for others in need, what we are to do with our wealth, and how He longs for us to be the answer to those living in oppression.
You and I hold an answer in our hand. That is a journey I’m on right now personally asking: What does it look like to live this out?
- Connie Jakab
Check out Connie Jakab's blog at http://culturerebel.com where she blogs about her family's adventures in serving the less fortunate and her continued rebellion to what culture tells us. Be sure to pick up her book, "Culture Rebel - because the world has enough desperate housewives" at http://culturerebel.com/books/. You can find Connie on Twitter at @ConnieJakab
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