The Crossword Puzzle

There is hardly a day passes that I don’t do a crossword puzzle. I think I picked up the habit from my mother who loved her crosswords. However, my mother had this thing about having to finish it at all costs. When it came to the last one or two words to complete it, and she couldn’t figure out the clues, she would just make up a word which fitted in with the letters already there. They were proper words all right, but they had nothing to do with the clues given. Her name was Agnes, so we called that ‘doing a wee Aggie.’  Some people are like that when it comes to the scriptures. When they come across a scripture, and they are not sure what it means, they do ‘a wee Aggie’ They make it say what they want it to say, or what they wish it to mean. It has been often said that a ‘text’ taken out of ‘context’ becomes a ‘pretext.’ A pretext to make it mean whatever you want it to mean. 

When you read a book, whether it be a novel, a biography, a historical tome or an adventure story, the author wants you to follow the story line that they have carefully laid out for you. They want you to get what they intended you to understand about the story. Why should the Bible be any different? Surely God intends us to understand what He is saying. 

So, He gave us a book. Admittedly it’s a long book. A library of 66 books. 39 in the Old Testament and 27 in the New Testament. Although it was written over a period of about 1500 years, by about 40 different writers, most of whom lived in different times and did not corroborate with one another, yet the Holy Spirit who oversaw its completion, made sure it had a distinct storyline for us to follow. It has a beginning, a Genesis, and a definite conclusion, the Book of Revelation. The placing of the books is not random. There is an order, and a flow, to direct us in our understanding of God’s word. Even though there is a great diversity in the collection of these 66 books, yet it has a unity. Ah, you may say, but I’m not a bible scholar nor a theologian, so how can I be expected to grasp such a weighty book as this? Well, if you really want to get a handle on the broad sweep of its story there are plenty of easy to read and understand aids to help you. If you are a believer then the Holy Spirit resides within you. He is the true author of all scripture, so He is wanting and willing to enable you to see what God is saying. Ask Him to help you and He surely will.  After all, you don’t want to be doing ‘a wee Aggie’ every time you read something you don’t understand. One of my favourite verses is found in Psalm 119:18 “Open my eyes, that I may see wondrous things from Your law.”

After nearly 50 years I’m still seeing wondrous things out of God’s law.  Have I ever done ‘a wee Aggie?’ Yes. But when I realised I quickly changed my mistake. 

Miles Coverdale, the great English bible translator, in 1535 wrote,

It shall greatly helpe ye to understand the scripture,

If thou mark

Not only what is spoken or written,

But of whom,

And to whom,

With what words,

At what time,

Where,

To what intent,

With what circumstances,

Considering what goeth before and what followeth.

It may be nearly 500 years since he said that, but it still holds good today. 
- Pastor David Goudy