God’s Wordle

My son Jake and I have this thing we do every day.  We play a game on our phone called “Wordle”.  It’s a short and simple game where you try to guess a five-letter word and you have six attempts to complete the task.  For us, it’s not just a matter of guessing the word; it’s about the competition of who can complete the puzzle in the least amount of tries.  Each day we send each other our results for bragging rights.  Sometimes I get it in two or three attempts.  My daily average is four.  Sometimes it’s a rather tricky word and it takes me five or six tries.  Occasionally I totally fail.

Sometimes I feel like God’s Word is more like God’s Wordle.  I can’t quite grasp what these holy and sacred words are trying to tell me.  Is this meant to be convicting or comforting?  Is this meant to be law or gospel?  Are these words trying to move me into action or are they simply food for the soul?  Unpacking these biblical texts can be tricky business and it can take numerous attempts to understand what the inspired author was trying to convey.  Sometimes it’s easy and we “get it’ in a couple of reads, while at other times we absolutely fail in grasping any kind of a holy message.

Even though this Holy Word can sometimes feel like a Holy Wordle, I believe the Holy Spirit invites us back each and every day to wrestle with these puzzles of faith.  To come and spend some time with God, to come and see what God is up to in the world and in your life.  So keep opening that Bible, keep coming to learn, and keep coming to be transformed.

In God’s peace, Pastor Derek