Our Diming Vision

According to a 2022 American Bible Society survey, 40% of people that attend church never read the Bible at home. Only 10% read the Bible each day. [See the survey at: State_of_the_bible-2022.pdf (americanbible.org)]. Our churches, families and the broader culture suffer from the lack of Biblical knowledge and influence.

Proverbs 29:18 states, “Where there is no vision, the people perish.” The Hebrew word translated as “perish” is para. It means “unconstrained.” It is like the long hair of a woman riding on a motorcycle without a helmet. Her hair flies in the wind, directionless and blown in all directions. The apostle Paul may have had “unconstrained” in mind when he described immature Christians who were lacking in “the knowledge of the Son of God;” therefore, they are “carried about by every wind of doctrine” (Ephesians 4:13-14). Moses used “para” to describe the behavior of the people dancing around the Golden calf as they violated God’s law (Exodus 32:25). While they had the law, their behavior was not constrained by it. This caused them to engage in idolatry and immorality (Exodus 32:6)

Vision is translated from the Hebrew word, “chazon.” Chazon describes how God reveals Himself through visions and prophecies. It is how we got the Bible. “All Scripture is God-breathed” (2 Timothy 3:16). God revealed the truth He wanted communicated to us through men. They recorded it for us to learn from it. God ensured that we received His words accurately. God reassures us that what we read is not the human author’s interpretation of what He said. Through Peter God tells us that “no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God” (2 Peter 1:21).

Even Jesus said of His teachings in the Gospels, “My teaching is not Mine, but His who sent Me.” (John 7:16). Later when praying to His Father, Jesus says, “the words which You gave Me I have given to them” (John 17:8). The later books in the New Testament were given through the Holy Spirit. Jesus reassured His disciples that, “He will teach you all truth. …He receives of mine and will announce to you” (John 16:13-15). The Holy Spirit not only brought us the Scriptures, but He will also teach us to understand them correctly.

God not only provides us with His truth but also with persons, He has commissioned to help us to understand and apply it. “He gave some as apostles … prophets … evangelists … pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ;” (Ephesians 4:11-12). God wants us to know His truth so He gave us the Bible. We use His truth to meet the needs in the church and society.

We serve the world by sharing God’s message of salvation. We serve the church and the world by being agents of God’s love through acts of service, as directed in the Bible.