The Words of a Lover

July 20, 2018

One of the most difficult things I’ve ever done is teach a Bible study at the Samaritan Center (SC), a drop-in center for the homeless. Some participants could not read, others could read a little, and still others had college degrees. I had to get right to the point without any flowery language. I had to let them see that God could meet them in their street-level needs. I needed for God’s words to them not to sound churchy but to be as gritty and down-to-earth as possible.

I found The Message to be inspired by a similar spirit. Here, for example, is Proverbs 3:5-12:

Trust God from the bottom of your heart;

don’t try to figure out everything on your own.

Listen for God’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go;

he’s the one who will keep you on track.

Don’t assume that you know it all.

Run to God! Run from evil!

Your body will glow with health,

your very bones will vibrate with life!

The Message was written, we’re told by its author, Eugene Peterson, in the context of “two language worlds, the world of the Bible and the world of Today.” This meeting ground is the context for every human encounter with God’s Word: Every Bible study leader is, in effect, a Bible translator like Eugene. And, given Eugene’s premise of these two language worlds colliding, every Bible translator is, in effect, a cross-cultural missionary—moving back and forth between these two worlds, revealing the one to the other, and making the passage meaningful even to the street-dweller.

Here’s Proverbs 3:5-12 again, carried by Eugene and me into the language world of my friends who were homeless:

5Trust God from the bottom of your heart;

(just like you do everything from the heart-gut)

don’t try to figure out everything on your own.

(even though you manage so cleverly on the streets by your wits)

6Listen for God’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go;

(sleeping in drainage ditches, dumpster-diving for food)

he’s the one who will keep you on track.

(someone will hire you; you won’t get arrested, shot or cut)

7Don’t assume that you know it all.

(even though you’ve seen it all)

Run to God! Run from evil!

(Run to SC; don’t accept drugs one more time)

8Your body will glow with health,

(you won’t be one of the many annual deaths we see at SC)

your very bones will vibrate with life!

(you’ll have energy to get up tomorrow)

Many times as months passed, when one of our doubters or objectors railed against God or life in general, one of our folks would quip, “Don’t try to figure out everything on your own.”

None of us can afford to let one word from God go over our heads; all God’s words and ideas must capture our hearts, penetrate our minds, and embrace our guts. That’s what the words of a lover do, and God is the ultimate Lover.

Jan Johnson has authored many books including When the Soul Listens, Enjoying the Presence of God and (with Dallas Willard) Renovation of the Heart in Daily Practice. With degrees in Christian education and spirituality, Jan teaches spiritual formation at Hope International University and Azusa Pacific University, and is a regular presenter at retreats and conferences throughout the United States.

Other Reflections in Honor of the 25th Anniversary of The Message

Unleashing the Sacred Purpose of God’s Word

Danielle Strickland

I’ve been trying to explain what happened to me when The Message hit the scene. I first heard someone read a passage out loud during a public meeting. And something happened inside of me. The words were familiar, but they stirred something—they settled my heart and relaxed my brain.
READ MORE

Good with Words, Good with Tone

Michael Frost

I had a conversation recently with someone regarding salvation and the afterlife. A death in her family had prompted her to ask questions about life beyond the grave, so we talked about faith in Jesus, and she showed a great deal of interest.

“Where can I read more about what Jesus said?” she asked.
READ MORE

Ode to the Message

Dan Allender

The woman I was counseling was a jagged-edged, hard-bitten woman who looked 60 though she had only turned 40 a week before this conversation. She held a small book in her hands that initially looked like a tract on steroids. I saw the word Psalms upside down but I couldn’t tell what version. Her sister…
READ MORE

This Someday Eden

Jason Hague

I didn’t encounter the transformative writings of Eugene Peterson until my mid-thirties, and that’s probably a good thing. Any earlier than that, and I’m afraid I might have dismissed them altogether. I wanted to save humanity, after all. My world was far too big for his earthy calls to local faithfulness.
READ MORE

The Words of a Lover

Jan Johnson

One of the most difficult things I’ve ever done is teach a Bible study at the Samaritan Center (SC), a drop-in center for the homeless. Some participants could not read, others could read a little, and still others had college degrees. I had to get right to the point without any flowery language.
READ MORE

An Invitation for Me

Brian Hardin

During my childhood, church was ever-present. My father was a pastor. Church was the sun around which we orbited. In church, I grew up hearing sermons about the Bible. For me, reading the Bible was another story—a confusing one. One day, I was crawling beneath the pews when I came upon a book.
READ MORE

The Word of God Comes to Us in Humility

Amy Julia Becker

I ran into Jess in the grocery store one Sunday morning. She glanced around, as if to make sure we weren’t within earshot of another customer. Then she said, “So that Bible study you invited me to join?”
“Yes!” I replied, with what might have been an excessive amount of enthusiasm. “I’m so happy you want to come.”
READ MORE

The Underestimated Theologian

Tricia McCary Rhodes

The thought of sitting at the table with Eugene Peterson had been on my mind for days. It was hard for me to wrap my mind around the thought that I would have the privilege of sharing a meal with a man whose influence in my life stretched back over decades. In my estimation, he had risen to the ranks of Christian “royalty.”
READ MORE

Life Lived in a Fully Integrated Way

Daniel Fusco

It is truly impossible to quantify the impact of Eugene’s ministry on my life and ministry. I was introduced to him when, as a young pastor, I asked another pastor to recommend something to read devotionally, to supplement my usual Bible reading. He pulled off his shelf a worn paperback version of The Message, Eugene’s…
READ MORE