The Bible and A Bowl of Chili

We cannot understand the totality of God. He is too big, too complex, too separate from us. But we can understand a lot of who he is. We can understand his heart because he reveals himself to us. The primary way he does this is through the Bible. We can pick up a book and see God revealing himself to us. That’s amazing.

But lots of people pick up the Bible and start picking it apart. They focus on one or two parts, and sometimes even build entire theological structures out of a verse or two. The Bible, however, cannot be read like that. It is made up of 66 books, but that does not mean those 66 books are not telling one story. It’s broken into chapters and verses, but that doesn’t mean Romans 9 should be read as a stand-alone. What we see in one part must be put in the context of the whole.

Think of it like a bowl of chili. I tried to get my 5-year-old to eat some the other night. He wanted to pick out the meat. I told him no. So he asked for just a bean. I said no again. He said he doesn’t like onions. I said that’s ok, taste it anyway. Chili is best tried when the entire mixture is in the bite. It takes the whole to understand it. You might not like onions by themselves, but put in with the rest, it adds to the wonder of the flavor.

The Bible is like a bowl of Chili. The individual ingredients are great. Some we like more than others in isolation. But taken together as a whole, it tastes wonderful.

Swallow the Bible whole. Take all of it and put it in your mouth. Only then can you truly taste and see that God is good.