TODAY’S SCRIPTURE 2 Peter 1:19-21
Perhaps the greatest American novel is titled Moby Dick or The Whale. Penned in 1851, the novel was given poor reviews and virtually discarded. But fifty years later, its popularity began to grow as readers found themselves drawn into its literary beauty. Moby Dick is now considered one of the greatest works of literature ever written.
The problem is, few know what it means. Many have tried to decipher its symbolism. But the best way of knowing what the novel means is to learn what the author intended to communicate. The author Herman Melville wanted the reader to struggle with God. The whale (God) is pure and frightening all at once. And his hunters represent the plight of humanity in dealing with, and often rejecting, something so awe-inspiring.
You see, authority belongs to the author. God’s Words matter because He is the Creator. The true meaning of life is communicated through the words of life’s author.
God speaks “by the breath of His mouth” (Psalm 33:6). And when those words are written down, we describe this by the word inspiration. Peter writes about it: “No prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit” (2 Peter 1:21).
Prophecies, Peter says, do not come from someone sitting down and trying to interpret events out of his own wisdom. The prophets spoke the words, but their wills did not originate the words. Those words came from God. They are His own Words, carrying the supreme authority of the author of life. You see, God intends through the inspiration of His written Word to move our thinking in a Godward direction.
The Bible is the product of life’s author at work. God the author intends for His Word to be inerrant, meaning without any false details. And He intends for His Word to be infallible, meaning that it cannot be in error. God’s Word is true because God is its author, and God always speaks truly.
Today, I will…read 2 Peter 1:19-21 and think about what God has done to direct my thoughts toward Him.