By Dr. Rebekah McCloud
An English schoolteacher, was in Switzerland and looking for a room to rent for when she would begin her teaching there the following fall. It occurred to her that she had not seen a Water Closet (toilet) around the place. She wrote a note to the schoolmaster asking him if there was a “W.C.” near the room.
The schoolmaster was not good at English so he asked the parish priest about the meaning of the letters “W.C.” and the only solution they could come up with for the letters was “Wayside Chapel”. The schoolmaster then wrote the following note to the schoolteacher.
Dear Madam: I take great comfort in informing you that a “W.C.” is situated nine miles from the house in the corner of a beautiful grove of pine trees. It is capable of holding 229 people, and it is open on Sundays and Thursdays only. A great many people are expected during the summer months so I suggest that you come early. Although there is usually plenty of standing room, this is an unfortunate situation, particularly if you are in the habit of going on a regular basis. You will no doubt be glad to hear that a good many bring their lunch and make a day of it. I would especially advise you to go on Thursdays when there is an organist. The acoustics are excellent and even the most delicate sounds can be heard everywhere.
My daughter was married in the “W.C.” and it was there that she met her husband. The newest attraction is a bell which rings every time a person enters. My wife is rather delicate so she can’t go regularly: it’s been almost a year since she’s been there. I shall be delighted to reserve the best seat for you where you will be seen by all.
Now, I want to suggest to you, that sometimes as Christians, we are the school teacher and sometimes we are the schoolmaster. I know I have been both. We either send or receive the wrong thing. We either ask or answer the wrong questions, we either give or get the wrong information, we either misunderstand or we’re misunderstood, or we just get things tangled up. Proverbs 4:7 in part says, “and with all thy getting get understanding.” We have busy lives and sometimes we let the busyness of life keep us away from what Captains James Kirk and Jon Luc Picard called the “Prime Directive.”
For Christian, the Prime Directive is the Great Commission. This is the instructions the resurrected Jesus gave the disciples. Matthew 28:19-20 in part says, “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you.”
So how can we fulfil the Great Commission if we don’t read or study the Word as we should? 2 Timothy 2:15 says, “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not be ashamed, rightly divining the word of truth.” Amen.
Recently, I read an article that said there is an epidemic of Bible illiteracy in our churches. A LifeWay Research study found that only 45% of those who attend church on a regular basis read their Bibles more than once a week. About 35% of the people who attend church read their Bibles occasionally, maybe once or twice a month. And, almost 1 in 5 churchgoers say they never read the Bible.[1]
The Ponce Foundation found that, “Of over the 2 billion Christians in the world, less than 30% will ever read through the entire Bible. The fact is over 82% of Christian Americans only read their Bibles on Sundays while in church.”[2]
OMG! Many of us get the Word delivered to our devices on a daily basis. We get the scripture of the day, blogs, devotionals, prayers, sermons, videos, graphics, inspirational messages, etc. Do we read, listen to or look at them all? Some of them? Do we take the time to pull out our Bibles and search a text or run a reference? Do we study to show ourselves approved?
If we were asked to provide some Biblical encouragement to someone in need, could we do it? If we were asked to explain some Biblical concept, could we do it? No matter what you think of them, when the Jehovah Witnesses or the Mormons knock on your door, they know their Bible. Do we know ours? I’ll be the first to admit, that I need to do better. I have some time with the Word most days, but I need to be more deliberate in setting aside more time. I need to study more of the Word each day. I need to show myself approved. Do you?
The Great Commission is not just for our pastors and our evangelists and our elders; it for us, all of us, as well. Stewardship includes growing our membership. That’s not just increasing the numbers. We can increase a hundredfold, but do we have the capacity for pouring into and building up the brothern who will then do the same, and so on and so on? Remember the question, what did you do with what I gave you?
Ephesians 4:12- 13 says our role is, “to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.” Amen.
Church, let’s all read the Word. Let’s all hid the Word in our hearts. Let’s all get understanding and let’s all study to show ourselves approved. Amen.
2/25/18
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[1] The Epidemic of Bible Illiteracy in Our Churches. http://www.christianitytoday.com/edstetzer/2015/july/epidemic-of-bible-illiteracy-in-our-churches.html
[2] Christians Don’t Read Their Bibles. http://poncefoundation.com/project/christians-dont-read-their-bible/