Listen and submit

"A Word from God implies a word from outside of us, a breaking into our lives by some transcendent being to whom we are obliged to listen. But our culture is listening much more closely to voices inside ourselves; we tend to read words and say how they make us feel, rather than read words and ask what they say and how we should rightly respond. To read the Bible as the authoritative Word of God means to read it with a heart ready to listen and submit. This is a radical activity in a culture that does not embrace the legitimacy of authority."

"If we start with the assumption that we as readers use our individual contexts and experiences to shape our own meanings from the words, then Bible study will consist mainly of a series of personal reactions and opinions. The dance will be chaotic and, in the end, narcissistic. On the other hand, if we study with the assumption that God intends to give us meaning that we can receive more or less clearly through words, then Bible study will consist of learning to "dig into" the words as carefully as possible, so that we come closer and closer to the meaning God intends us to receive. We will come closer to him, for the words come from him. That's the point."

Bible Study: Following the Ways of the Word, Kathleen Buswell Nielson, P&R Publishing, pp. xii-xiii, xvii.