The ambiguity of Scripture drives me batty sometimes. I like things to be clear cut. That gives me a sense of closure. Completion. My Type A personality likes closure and completion. I like black and white clarity.
But God’s Word rarely operates in that region of pure clarity, and rightfully so. Our brains are nothing compared to the vastness of God’s understanding, knowledge, and wisdom. We have no ability to process even the creation right before us, much less all of existence and spiritual truth. So, I must be content to live in the gray. To see through a glass dimly. To wait for all to be revealed.
Even I, though, sometimes delight in the ambiguity of Scripture. Sometimes it actually brings more clarity. How? Because it applies in so many ways. No one can escape the truth of it, no matter how they see it.
Allow me to share an example from my recent reading:
How blessed is the one whom You choose and bring near to You to dwell in Your courts. We will be satisfied with the goodness of Your house, Your holy temple. Psalm 65:4
The satisfaction in this verse can be taken a couple of ways.
1) We will have all of our needs met. Because of the goodness of the house of the Lord, there are no wants. No needs. No cravings. No desires. Why? Because all is supplied in fullness. We lack for nothing. Oh what a glorious life!
But there’s another thought…
2) We will choose to want nothing. In other words, we will intentionally line our desires up with God’s provision rather than insisting that our wants be fulfilled. We will be satisfied.
Both ideas fit into the context of Psalm 65, and both ideas fit with the whole of Scripture. But some days one is more relevant than the other. Sometimes I need to hear the first of these messages. I need to know that God has it all under control. I need assurance that He will provide every need my family has.
Other times I need the second thought. I must intentionally and actively bring my desires under discipline, directing them to fit with God’s goodness. Only then can I find the true depth of satisfaction with life in the shelter of God’s house.
Yes, sometimes the ambiguity of Scripture is just what I need.
Not Quite Ordinary 