Walking in the Valley A bi-weekly column, featuring one Silicon Valley Christian's (a)musings on life's journey by Barbara Dahlgren

Pieces of the Puzzle Column for the weeks of April 16-30, 2009

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When I was growing up my family loved to do jigsaw puzzles.  We’d start one on a coffee table, card table or sometimes on our kitchen table and everyone would just sit and work on it a while, then go do other things.  With all of us working together, little by little the complete picture would be revealed.    

Finding the right piece to fit in the right place was not as easy as it looked.  You had to match colors, shapes and sizes.  If a puzzle piece didn’t fit, you would lay it aside and come back to it later.  When you found the right puzzle piece for the right spot it would go in easily and fit snugly. 

When my elderly grandmother came to stay with us, she wanted to join in the fun.  However, we soon discovered that working puzzles was not her forte’.  She would try to squeeze a piece into the wrong spot and sometimes hit it with her fist to make it fit.   “I know that goes there,” she’d say, but it didn’t – and no amount of pounding on it would make it fit any better.

I think of this example when I hear private interpretations of the Bible on peripheral issues.  Some people start with a preconceived premise.  They believe in it so strongly they squeeze and distort facts to fit and support what they feel is right.  Then they force-feed their theory again and again to anyone who will listen.  They aren’t interested in hearing anything that doesn’t support what they have already determined is true.  Even if their supposition doesn’t fit or mesh with other Bible passages, they keep trying to pound it into place.

Such people have no credibility with me. If their premise is sound, they will not need to force it into place. I respect the person who can just lay it aside for awhile and focus on the pieces of the puzzle that do fit. If what they believe is true, when other parts of the puzzle are in place, their piece will fit.

How do you recognize such people?
• They usually side step the basics of salvation such as Jesus’ birth, life, death and resurrection.
• They don’t want to discuss how to build a relationship with God or how to walk with Him daily.
• They aren’t interested in a two-way conversation but want to teach their findings.
• They don’t want to hear anything that doesn’t support their preconceived idea.
• They will always find a way to bring a conversation back to their premise.
• Because of their intense study on their topic, they consider themselves an authority.
• They want to focus on obscure areas of the Bible that could have many different interpretations.

We all know there are certain gray areas of the Bible, but perhaps that’s what God intended. It can produce a healthy dialogue and exchange of ideas among Christians. However the phrase “the main things are the plain things and the plain things are the main things” still rings true. Any study that takes you away from the main focus of Jesus and his love will not be productive in the end. Some of these speculations are interesting, but may need to be laid aside until more of the picture comes together and is revealed. God is the only one who has the BIG picture and knows how all the puzzle pieces will fit snugly into place with His overall plan.

Be sure to visit this page often to read the next edition of Walking in the Valley. You can write to the author at bdahlgren@wcgsouthbay.org.