The Word and the World

You have the Word, and you have the world. And the Word needs to be applied to the world. How do we become better at applying the Word to the world? One way to do that is by studying the Word. This one is obvious. The degree to which our understanding of the Word is limited, our ability to apply the Word to the world will also be limited.

But there is another way we become better at applying the Word to the world, and that’s by studying the world. This one may be less obvious to some, and may seem more controversial, but it really shouldn’t be in my opinion. The degree to which our understanding of the world is limited, our ability to apply the Word to the world will also be limited.

Suffer an elementary illustration, and think of the Word as paint, and the world as a paint-by-number template. If I don’t have a good view of the template, either because it isn’t printed well, or my vision is blurred or obstructed, then no matter how perfectly-mixed and beautiful the paint is, I will be limited in my ability to apply the paint as it should be.

Know the Word, and know the world. Both of these spheres of knowledge make us better able to apply the Word to the world.