Don’t Pluck your Eye out Yet
Have you ever read a Bible verse and thought… ‘Wait, what?’ The New Testament is full of FIGURES OF SPEECH. Powerful word pictures that, if taken literally, would be a source of great angst in our lives.
Here are just a few.
You must be BORN AGAIN? John 3 Nicodemus was not amused.
WASHED in the BLOOD?
If your eye causes you to sin. PLUCK IT OUT?
Turn the other CHEEK? Matthew 5
Put on the FULL ARMOR of God? Ephesians 6
These colorful expressions are to grab our attention and drive home a deeper truth. So don’t buy an eye patch yet, or shop Amazon for a suit of Armor.
I would like to add that figures of speech are not limited to stories in our Bibles, as any married man can attest.
When your wife responds to you with the dreaded word combo…' Fine, Whatever'.
This may not be a true Figure of Speech, but it is a perfect example where what a husband does next will not be FINE, and WHATEVER is the last thing he should do.
This is a true riddle wrapped in an enigma.
BE AFRAID, be VERY AFRAID.
So, finally, take this writing as an encouragement to read your Bibles and consider the context and the audience. God’s Word is rich and deep and deserves our prayerful attention.
May God bless your day with clarity, purpose, and discernment of ‘God’s Word,’ to safely navigate when lessons are literal and when others are figurative.
Lest you look like a battle-weary pirate. —>
And may you husbands nary hear a FINE, WHATEVER from your lovely bride. AMEN and AMEN
Jeff (figuratively in the Back Pew) Larson
PS: Please enjoy a few more literalist dilemmas for your amusement below
PLEASE SHARE BELOW YOUR COMMENTS and/or amusements regarding the Literal versus Figurative Language found in God’s Word. I am sure I missed plenty.
also…
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