In the early morning, I read Amos. All of it. In the middle of the afternoon, I read 1 Timothy. All of it. In between, I tried to read and think and write. It was a monthly retreat day.

I wrote many words, 1000 or more. You probably won’t see them. They are words that reflect the effort of trying to find words. They are too teachy, too “trying to make a point and end just in time.”

Amos and 1 Timothy don’t feel that way at all.

Amos feels sad. There is a necessary, deliberate warning of impending doom. Not random doom. Clearly warned. And to people who were complacent. Comfortable. Sure that their success was a result of their merit. Sure that they didn’t have to think about people who were, to use the cliche, “less fortunate than us.”

1 Timothy feels bullet-pointed, a list of items you would want to cover with someone you were training, just to be sure that they know why you do what you do. And it has a healthy amount of “work on this. Keep practicing. You have to stay focused.”

I confess that I don’t understand all of these two books. There is historical background to Amos that I just don’t have.  But I’m curious. There is timing in Paul’s life that I just don’t know. But I’m curious.

As I read both of these books, I resisted the urge to get practical, to find the lesson, to apply it to today.  On this day, Amos begged for quick application.

Instead of application, I’m thinking reflection for Amos and immersion for 1 Timothy. 1 Timothy will be the basis of a small group study this summer. We’ll wrestle with it a lot. Amos? I’m not sure why I read it this morning.

I gotta think about it.

—

Here’s the PDF of the Bible survey results. It’s 13 pages. There are no email addresses in it. Just lots of honest reflection.