«HE WILL TEACH YOU ALL THINGS»
«The Holy Spirit. . . will teach you all things» (John 14:26, NIV).
I AM still shocked when I remember the interview Ilia Calderon, an African-Colombian reporter for Univision News, conducted with Christopher Barker, a renowned leader of the white supremacist group Ku Klux Klan. In the interview, Mr. Barker, under the slogan «for God, for race, and for nation,» said he was willing to burn down all those who didn’t have «divine attributes»: being white and having blue eyes.
What perplexed me about the interview was that Christopher Barker based his disdain for any person who was not of the white race on the Holy Scriptures. He constantly referred to the Bible as the source of authority for his ideas. For instance, he quoted Leviticus 19:18: «Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbor as yourself» (NIV), and with a look of hatred, told the reporter it was impossible to treat her as his neighbor, because the Bible forbade it! To Christopher Barker, the Bible verse limited the word «neighbor» to his «own people.» If you are not one of his «own people,» then you are not his neighbor. «His own people,» in Barker’s opinion, are those of his same race.
But, according to the Bible, who is my neighbor? A neighbor is anyone who is not me, no matter who they are, what they do, or where they come from (see, for example, Luke 1O:25-37). Surprisingly, the same Hebrew word that is translated as «neighbor» also refers to my «adversary» in other Bible passages, such as 2 Samuel 2:16 and Proverbs 18:17. Jesus, Paul, and James quoted Leviticus 19:18, and none of them interpreted the passage the way Barker did.
In reality, to live out what Leviticus 19:18 says, we need something more than simply reading. Jesus told a religious group in His days who were avid readers of the Word, «You are in error because you do not know the Scriptures» (Matthew 22:29, NIV). If we want to read and apply the Bible correctly, we need to let this wonderful great promise become a reality in our lives: «The Holy Spirit … will teach you all things» (John 14:26, NIV). In John 16:13, Jesus adds that the Spirit will «guide us into all truth.»
When reading the Bible, we should be willing to be instructed by the heavenly Teacher. Like the psalmist, we should pray, «Lead me in Your truth and teach me» (Psalm 25:5). If we do so, we will love Barker, but condemn his teachings.
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Taken from: Devotional Readings for Adults 2023
“I AM WITH YOU”
From: J. VLADIMIR POLANCO
Collaborators: Lorina Maya & Angelica Cuate
