Todd Hiestand

Letting the Scripture “Get You”

June 7, 2006

Reading William Willimon’s book, “Pastor” and came across this thought,

“A friend of mine says that there are at least two ways of knowing. One is that of the mathematics and similar endeavors, such as when you are working with a tough mathematical problem, struggling, and then at last you say, ‘I got it!’ That is one way of thinking.

Another way is, say, when you have been to see a great movie, one that makes you a different person in the seeing. You emerge from the theater. You do not say, ‘I got it.’ No. What you say is, if you are able to say anything at all, “It got me.”

…[of the text] we ask, ‘What does this text mean to me?’ or more precisely, ‘What can I do with this text?’ before simply sitting quietly and letting the text have its way with us.” (p. 136)

I think so many of us were brought up to “get things out of the text” (i.e. information, facts, etc) that we miss what it means to be taken in by the narrative of scripture and allow it to “get us.” Allow the story (because that is what it is, not a mathematical book of laws) to capture our hearts and imagination and change the way we live and not just the facts we think.