WiredThinking

I’m no daredevil. From my perspective, all you gain from bungee jumping is a shortened life span. Surfing looks fun, but I’m really hairy. Why risk appearing like a sea lion to an old Great White with cataracts? Wilderness adventures are growing in popularity, but my outback itch can be scratched over a bowl of Moose Tracks ice cream.

In spite of my conservative nature, I tried something extreme six months ago-I joined an Old Testament Bible study with a few friends in my youth group. The idea to join struck me following a disastrous football practice.

As we broke the huddle, I prepared to block for a play headed for the right side of the field-or so I thought. Upon the snap of the ball, I hightailed right, while everyone else sprinted to the left. Within seconds, I felt like a lonely farm animal wandering aimlessly in the pasture.

My teammates’ snickers faded when Coach Newman yelled, “Shriner, get off of the field, and don’t come back till you know your plays.”

Totally embarassed, I sheepishly walked to the locker room.

Digging into the playbook

Later that night as I sat in my bedroom doing homework, I happened to glance at my nightstand. Sitting next to my play-book was the Bible I took to summer camp. Sadly, I hadn’t opened the Bible since the start of football season.

For whatever reason I picked it up and leafed through a couple pages. A thought popped into my head. Just as my football coach confronted me about not knowing my plays, I felt as though God was asking me, “How well do you know this playbook?”

The thought hit me between the eyes. I professed to be a player on God’s team-yet in all honesty-I knew very little about His playbook. My devotional diet consisted of scriptural nuggets, while my soul starved for biblical meat.

And so the Old Testament study started. Ten students stayed after school to meet with my youth pastor. We dove straight into Genesis, and within minutes, I was hooked. He made the ancient material come to life.

I had no idea the Garden of Eden was close to modern-day Iraq. After tracing the line of Abraham through Ishmael, I clearly understood that Hagar’s sin could partially explain much of the fighting in the Middle East. It shed new light on American soldiers patrolling the streets of Baghdad.

After watching portions of The Prince of Egypt, we discovered the biblical story represented more than a Walt Disney classic. Moses liberated the Jewish slaves from the Egyptians, but his heroics were not permanent. Pharaoh’s rule launched a long line of persecution targeting followers of God-from the Roman Empire to Hitler’s Holocaust, to the halls of my high school. Following Christ comes with a price tag. The ancient pages of Scripture were showing their modern-day relevance.

So what have been the results? Did I become a spiritual encyclopedia that gushed religious babble at cafeteria lunch tables? Absolutely not, however, it did change my actions in a few significant ways:

I started reading my Bible. My youth pastor bribed me the first few weeks by promising a trip to my favorite restaurant if I did all the reading. It worked, but after a while, I really wanted to do it. I felt less desire to play video games or talk on the phone.

I shared my faith more. It’s like anything else with teenagers-if we have the “inside scoop” on something, we want to talk about it. I was even surprised at how well others received my thoughts about God and the Bible.

I gained confidence. I don’t like to admit weakness, but sharing my faith was scary. Fortunately, Scripture reminded me that Moses, Job, and Esther experienced fear. God called each of them to acts of courage in spite of their apprehension. Time after time, God used the ordinary individual to do extraordinary feats.

I became more aware of my actions. No sin is without consequence. Adam and Eve were expelled from the garden. The Israelites wandered for 40 years. King David’s adultery resulted in Uriah’s death. Understanding the relationship between sin and justice will wake anybody out of a spiritual slumber.

In only three months we crossed the Red Sea, were imprisoned in a den of lions, and even flew on the wings of eagles. The typical teenage thrill-seeker probably doesn’t look between the hardbound pages of the Bible for an adrenaline fix. But in the end, I found God’s Word extremely thrilling and fulfilling.

David Long has worked for Youth for Christ in Fort Wayne, Indiana, for 13 years. In his free time he enjoys spending time with his wife, son, and daughter, and he likes to cycle. He writes from Fort Wayne, Indiana.

Original Article taken from

http://www.insightmagazine.org/cover/index.asp?issueID=20071643