Christians around the world should only have a few things in common: belief in God, Jesus, and God’s word.

That’s it. We won’t have anything else in common. We will not all speak the same language. We won’t have the same skin color. We won’t all be rich or poor or anything in between. We won’t have the same voting records, not even close. We won’t like the same books or movies or music or jokes. We won’t worship the same way or pray the same way or dress the same way when we do.

We won’t agree on anything at all, in fact, except that there is One True God who loved all these disagreeable people so much that He breathed His will directly into scripture, and then He sent His only son Jesus to clarify those scriptures for us and save us from death by dying and being raised again.

We Christians won’t even necessarily believe the same things about death or the afterlife or the creation or about God Himself. If it’s not made clear in the Bible, it’s not important to being Christian. We can agree to disagree.

But if it is clear in the Bible, we Christians definitely should agree on it. And live by it. And be united in love by it.

“All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.”
‭‭2 Timothy‬ ‭3‬:‭16‬-‭17‬ ‭CSB‬‬

So what is the ultimate purpose of the scriptures?

The purpose is not to judge other people or other Christians. The purpose is not to create legislation or to try to remake our current culture or society. The purpose is not to win debates about esoteric “Christian” ideals or concepts. The purpose is not to win elections or gain power. The purpose is not to exclude, hate, control, or vilify anyone.

The purpose of these God-breathed scriptures is very clearly stated here: to equip me for every good work.

Am I using the Bible as a tool to help me do good things in service of loving others well?

Or am I using it as a weapon to manipulate and shame and divide?

Dear God,

Thank you for giving us your word. And thank you that I live in a place where I am free to read it whenever I want. Please forgive me for taking that for granted. I pray that others who do not have free access to the Bible in their native language do find it soon. Remind me, as I read your word, that its purpose is to equip me to do good, not for any other, self-serving purpose.