In 1946 the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered in a Cave in Qumran having been protected there for 2000 years. The miracle of the timing of this find was remarkable. Just months before the international community decided who was the rightful owner of those lands the scrolls surfaced so that Israelites could lay claim to the lands promised to the patriarchs. You see, God is still faithful to his promises, because his word is secure forever. It was astounding to have these scrolls, treasures of their own right, surface just when needed for the nation of Israel.
When I think about the Dead Sea Scrolls I think about God’s word. I find that God’s word is an enigma. It is the intersection of the infinite with the finite. Undeniably rich with wisdom and insight, and altogether alien, yet packaged in familiar comfortable personal stories, songs, poems, rules, laments and intellectual musings. Like Jesus the intersection of human and divine is disturbing. Human enough to experience hunger, divine enough to say no to being ruled by it. Human enough to see value in money, divine enough to demand that the rich young ruler forsake it to follow Him. God’s word is both delightful and intimidating. A refreshing glass of lemonade one day, and an ice water bath the next which is painful, mind numbing, but needed, reorienting and profoundly healing.
The Dead Sea Scrolls speak to me of the broken desire to keep God’s word to ourselves, to “hide our lamp under a bushel”. A community, the Qumran, was devoted to God, yet wanted to exclude all others… this is an oxymoron. Yet God used their misplaced devotion to preserve his word to help relaunch the Jewish nation. I find comfort here. My misplaced devotion can be used by God too. My love of facts and debates, of equations and neat tidy explanations, of tinkering with complexity may miss the mark of Jesus’ devotion to people, but God’s kingdom has room for me. It is bigger than our weaknesses and predilections. My love for fanciful writing, for lofty thinking, for silly games and sports… God has already used. Bible study and volleyball ministry, bible study and D & D ministry, perhaps a fantasy fiction and biblical languages writing ministry is next! Yes, I think it is. Time to take the things I am passionate about today and use them for God’s glory.
One day he will stir my passion for people to the point of teaching and leading them. But I am a work in progress and scaling this mountain to become a shepherd is slow and laborious. Better to trust God, find something I love to do, do it with a kingdom mindset, and let God make my way straight. Wisdom is better than gold; people are better than words; and God is better than all. His word really is a lamp for my feet, and his grace is sufficient for me. To my surprise, I have discovered that I love musty old scrolls. How about you, any interest?
Bilbo Baggins – “Never laugh at live dragons…” JRR Tolkien, The Hobbit
Atheist to Elder 