There are three ways to translate the Bible. You can translate it with 1) your mind 2) your heart and 3) your life.
I think a lot of us settle for the mental translation. But the end result is information. And what happens is this: we learn more, do less, and think we're growing spiritually. But not if that's the only translation.
The second translation is emotional. And the emotional translation may seem more subjective than intellectual translation. But that is when our hearts break for the things that break the heart of God. It’s not just information. It’s transformation. For the record, I think one person with one deeply held conviction will make more of a difference than someone with a hundred good ideas.
Finally, there is the life translation. That is when we become a “living epistle.” That is when the noun turns into a verb. And that is how we change the world. At the end of the day, Jesus isn't going to say, "Well thought good and faithful servant." He's going to say, "Well done good and faithful servant."
6 Comments:
brilliant insight! what a call to action.. go thou and do likewise, to quote the red letters
Uh Oh Mark, sounds like you are thinking like Dallas Willard and JP Moreland. . . great stuff.
Very thought provoking. I appreciate the insight in this entry. Keep up the thought provoking material. I just purchased your most recent book and am looking forward to reading it.
Mark - Thanks for your thoughts. From the title, I thought it was going to be about Greek / Hebrew / English, etc. But this far exceeded those expectations. I might suggest that a fourth translation be one that you allude to in the final sentence - a community radically living out faith and transforming the world.
Andrew Conard
This is awesome.
Kind of an old school thought, but the whole "mind, heart, life" themes reminded me of the old praise song lyrics, "Holiness" - "Take my heart and form it, take my mind transform it, take my will conform it to your, to your, oh lord."
We can know Him, and even have feelings for Him, if we haven't committed our lives/will (like a wedding saying "I do."), we have done nothing.
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