Pain and Suffering - God, why me?
Don't Read Scripture like the Devil! Read it like Christ!
Photo By: Flickr/ideacreamanuela ideacrea
"If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down; for it is written, 'He will give his angels charge of you,' and 'On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.'", the Devil said to Jesus when he tempted him (Matthew 4:6).
Jesus replied, "Again it is written, 'You shall not tempt the Lord your God.'" (Matthew 4:7)
Satan quoted Psalm 91:11-12. It is interesting to note that Jesus did not respond by saying, "You are quoting Psalm 91 out of context!" Satan did quote Psalm 91 correctly and in context! There was nothing in the context of Psalm 91 which indicated that Jesus shouldn't throw himself down. However, Jesus replied with a direct quote from Deutoronomy 6:16. In doing so, Jesus taught us that a very important principle - the principle of the unity of scripture. He taught us that scripture must be read as a whole and not in isolation.
A lot of times, a passage in scripture is better understood in the light of other passages. For example, Jesus said, "Truly, truly, I say to you, if you ask anything of the Father, he will give it to you in my name" (John 16:23). Does this mean that if I ask the Father for a million dollars here and now in Jesus' name, he will grant them to me? Of course not, for in doing so, I would be "tempting the Lord" already! John helps us understand that verse better when he says "And this is the confidence which we have in him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us" (1 John 5:14).
The Catholic church teaches us that we must 'Be especially attentive "to the content and unity of the whole Scripture". Different as the books which compose it may be, Scripture is a unity by reason of the unity of God's plan, of which Christ Jesus is the center and heart, open since his Passover" (CCC 112).
It is quite unfortunate that many Christians today make the mistake of reading certain verses in isolation, without regard for the unity of scripture, which makes them come to faulty and even dangerous conclusions which are harmful to their soul. As followers of Christ, we must follow his example and be attentive to the content and unity of the whole scripture.
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About the Author
I am a cradle Catholic. From a very early age, the hand of the Lord was upon me and he greatly blessed me. At a very young age, I began to read a children's Bible and read it many times over. Then, in my early teens, I began to be drawn deeper closer to the Lord in a more personal way. I found myself drawn to visit him in an adoration chapel and my prayer life began to grow. I was around 14 at that time. Then I got a copy of the Good News Bible and read that very eagerly. In my late teens I was very actively involved in a Catholic youth prayer group. We had praise and worship, talks. reflections, group discussions, etc. During this time, I grew personally by being mentored through a share group, but most of all because the Lord himself drew me close to him and I would often spend a lot of time before him in prayer. I then "upgraded" to an NRSV Bible and now I use the RSV-CE and have read that and the Catechism as well. I read and reflect upon God's word everyday as he leads me.
To be sure, my life has had its struggles, but since the time I have known the Lord personally (and even before that!), he has led me towards him and I am more and more drawn to him now. The story in my 20s is pretty much along the lines of following the Lord, making mistakes and learning from them, repenting and returning to the Lord, and following him again. The Lord has now brought me to a point where I can truly say I love him and it is my heart's desire to love him more and to draw other people to him.
I don't have any links to promote as such. I am not an active blogger. But a cause that is very close to my heart is Saint Paul's Outreach. Their website is http://www.spoweb.org/
I work as a Software Engineer in downtown Manhattan. I also play chess a lot and I have a National Master Title from the US Chess Federation. But my main interest is still the Lord and I'm willing to go wherever he takes me from here.
