"The Big Dig"

 

“The Big Dig”

 

During most of our time in New Hampshire a major road renovation was going on in Boston. Its official name was the Central Artery/Tunnel Project but locally it was dubbed “The Big Dig”. Planning began in 1982 but work didn’t start until 1991 and wasn’t concluded until December 31, 2007. Originally estimated to cost $2.8 billion ($7.4 billion in 2020 dollars) the final tab was $8.1 billion ($22 billion by 2020 standards), making it (at least at the time) the most costly highway project in U.S. history. (By contrast, this 1.5 mile roadway cost more than the 31.4 mile Chunnel--$21 billion—under the English Channel between England and France.) From Day One it was beset with problems of delays, unanticipated expenses, criminal arrests and construction snafus. Many have cited it as a prime example of a government-run boondoggle.

While our Lead Pastor enjoyed a two month sabbatical this past summer our Associate Pastor, Tommy Warnock, brought a message on mining the riches of God’s Word. As he spoke I began to think of this as a “Biblical Big Dig” (without the headaches). We see this practiced by Paul’s hearers in Berea who “…received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.” (Acts 17:11, emphasis added). The Greek term is anakrino, a compound word meaning to examine closely. It’s used to describe Pilate’s questioning Jesus during His “trial” in Luke 23:14 and Herod’s interrogation of the Roman guards when Peter was miraculously delivered from prison and likely execution in Acts 12:19. So this wasn’t a superficial reading but delving deeply into the Old Testament to check on the Apostle’s words. (See the following article, “The Five Most Important Words in Scripture”, for an expansion on this subject.) This is a practice God’s people need to follow to ascertain the accuracy of anyone’s teaching. And those of us in teaching roles must carefully measure what we say by the standard God has set forth (“Every word of God is flawless…Do not add to his words or he will rebuke you and prove you a liar.”—Proverbs 30:5-6, emphasis added).

How much am I using my “Bible shovel” to dig out its treasures?

 

Grace and Blessings!

Jim McMillan