Selah: Pause and Reflect

[This is one in a series of devotional reflections prepared for Horley Baptist Church during August 2023]

In a recent edition of the HBC buletin, Helen Ruffhead wrote of her experience of switching from a manual car to one with an automatic transmission.^[1] She wrote of her feelings when first presented with new features, the impulse to give up and seek an alternative way to avoid dealing with them and yet the knowledge that she must persevere with the unfamiliar.

For me, automatics have been a prerequisite for over thirty years. However, we do still have one manual car in the household. It is not used very much so it was not a great surprise when I was told that “it won’t go into gear”. The driver had become accustomed to an automatic and had forgotten all about the clutch.

As our circumstances of life change so old habits have to be relearnt. There may be new features to experiment with, new locations to be explored or new relationships to be developed. For some of us the prospect of change is exciting, for others the possibility can be severely disturbing.

In some ways these experiences are a bit like acquiring a new Bible. A new Bible will lack turned-down corners, well-thumbed pages or a cracked spine that falls open at our favourite passages. On the other hand, it might have new features such as red or blue letters, maps or a concordance. We might like to ignore them in our quest for the familiar or we might be so distracted that we lose sight of the core text.

Have the words of scripture become too familiar to you? You have read the book and you know how the story ends. You have your favourite passages and the rest is just of passing interest. Perhaps the solution is to try a different version of the Bible.

Are you tempted to think that, just as the Authorised Version was good enough for Saint Paul, so it must be good enough for you? Or do you think that more modern versions lack the AV’s classical style and the credibility that comes with the passage of time? Are you open to changing gear spiritually?

When reading a different version much of it will seem familiar but yet also a bit strange. Living languages evolve, words change their meaning or implication. Perhaps a different version – older or newer – will offer a different emphasis or shed a new light on familiar passages.

These verses written by a 19th century English vicar may use old-fashioned language but their truth still holds true.

LORD, Thy Word abideth and our footsteps guideth,
Who its truth believeth light and joy receiveth.

O that we, discerning its most holy learning,
Lord, may love and fear Thee, evermore be near Thee!
  HW Baker, 1861

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Resources:
[1] HBC ‘Yours’, 13/Aug/2023, (link)

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Bible dates: Where appropriate, the dates given for Biblical events are based on the Bible Timeline resource
and are subject to the constraints defined on the corresponding webpage.

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Contributed by Steve Humphreys; © the Author