Thought of the Day- 26 January 2007

Excerpt from Velvet Elvis
By: Rob Bell

Movement Two: Yoke (P. 62-63)

The Bible is not pieces of information about God and Jesus and whatever else we take and apply to situations as we would a cookbook or instruction manual.

And while I'm at it, let's make a group decision to drop once and for all the Bible-as-owner's-maual metaphor. It's terrible. It really is.

When was the last time you read the owner's manual for your toaster? Do you find it remotely inspiring or meaningful?

You only refer to it when something's wrong with your toaster. You use it to fix the problem, and then you put it away.

We have to embrace the Bible as the wild, uncensored, passionate account it is of people expiriencing the living God.

Doubting the one true God.

Wrestling with, arguing with, getting angry with, reconciling with, loving, worshiping, thanking, following the one who gives us everything.

We cannot tame it.

We cannot tone it down.

If we do, then we can't say that it is the life-giving Word of God. We have made it something else.


Velvet Elvis is one of the three books that I am currently and actively reading (the other two are The Good News About Injustice and The Pilgrim's Progress). I highly recommend (if I could, I would demand) that you read all three. These books are some of the most challenging, eye opening, testing, and stretching books I have ever read. I will be putting up excerpts from the other books in the days to come. I hope I don't get sued!

The Word of God