Onion

This weekend was a great weekend. Mike & I went to Abingdon VA and rode our mountain bikes 34 miles on the Creeper Trail. The entire trip was fun. One of the best parts of the trip was something small that happened while waiting to watch a movie. Mike asked if I wanted to play air hockey. I said yes. Mike was literally shocked when I beat him. Mike was so surprised because I have no athletic ability, I stink at video games, etc. He had no idea that when I went to church camp, I LOVED air hockey and played it a lot. I loved the moment, not only because I am very competitive, but also because after nine years of marriage, we are still learning about one another. It was exciting to think that there are parts of my personality and my past that are still left to be discovered.

I think that often times, we assume that we know all there is to know about another person, about God, about the Bible, etc. Because we reach that “comfortable” place, we stop investing the time, energy and effort into asking questions and seeking to learn more about others and God. The beauty of this past weekend was that after 9 years of marriage, Mike and I were both dedicated to spending time continuing to get to know one another. We were both pleasantly surprised to learn new things about one another.

I often fail to read some of the old stories in the Bible over and over again because I know them so well. For example, I could easily recite the stories of Noah and the Ark, of Adam & Eve, of David & Goliath. However, if we simply assume that we know the stories by heart and there is nothing more to be learned, we will miss out on some tremendous revelations and blessings. I think that the scripture and God can be like an onion. When we read a story or pray the first time, we peel back a layer of the onion. As we smell and hold the onion, we think that we know all there is to know about the onion. However, if we continue to invest the time and energy in looking at the onion, we will discover that the onion has many layers. As we peel back the layers, we see more and more of the onion. The onion is still an onion, but we discover layers upon layers. The same can be said for our relationship with God and the scripture. Even if you have read the Bible cover to cover, you have still only peeled back a layer of the onion. As we live life and have new experiences, different aspects of the scripture will speak to us – in essence – we will be peeling back another layer of the onion.

Are you satisfied with simply observing the outer skin of the onion, or are you willing to invest the time and energy to peel back the layers?