Out of Context

I heard someone quote the Bible the other day.

It sounded good.
Encouraging.
Positive.
The kind of line people share and nod along with.

There was just one problem.

It wasn’t what the passage meant.

Pulled out of context, it said something completely different than what was actually written.

And it made me think.

Reading the Bible without context
is like opening a novel to page 110,
reading a paragraph,
and deciding you understand the story.

You might recognize the words.
You might even like the tone.

But you have no idea who the characters are.
What’s already happened.
Or where it’s going.

Context doesn’t just add detail.
It determines meaning.

A verse can comfort.
A verse can correct.
A verse can confront.

But only when it’s understood the way it was written.

Otherwise, we’re not reading Scripture.

We’re rewriting it.

And if I’m honest, that’s usually where I get into trouble.

Not when I ignore the Bible.
But when I reshape it to fit what I already want to believe.

The truth doesn’t bend to me.

I have to bend to it.

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