Christian A. wrote:I was just talking to someone yesterday who said the same thing: that the Psalms didn't seem very applicable to him. I don't understand that. Psalms is one of my favorite books to read. There is something in every single Psalm that I can apply directly to my life. I'm not sure why so many people find that difficult.
But, as for the topic at hand, I think it's possible to "dislike" some passages of Scripture more than others and still be saved. I don't think you can "hate" passages of God's Word. It doesn't really make sense to me why someone would truly dislike particular parts, but I guess it's not really a salvation issue. It may be a heart issue though.
Psalms is one of my least favorite books of the Bible if I had to pick one. I definitely appreciate many of them, Psalms 27 is very significant to me, but when I try to read through the book of Psalms I start attempting to avoid my Bible reading, both consciously and sub-consciously.
I find Psalms long and want to think that it less applicable to my spiritual life. I am not entirely sure why, but at least part of it is due to having to be still and focus completely on God. Concentrating entirely on praising God is a difficult task, especially repeatedly.
This probably points (again) to my wanting control and not wanting to give it to anyone else, a long standing family tradition.
It's important for me to remember that God isn't calling me to
like every verse in the Bible, He's calling me to hear and obey His word.
Christian A. wrote:I guess it's not really a salvation issue. It may be a heart issue though.
I definitely agree with this.
To give a little background on
Jane Eyre, Jane is an orphan in the custody of her aunt. She is abused physically and verbally by her cousins, while her aunt turns a blind eye to the situation, even blaming Jane for crimes he did not commit. Jane no godly role models and several heart issues. She is eventually shipped off to a charity board school where she begins her spiritual journey.
This passage is taken from the front end of the book, before Jane is sent to school. The man questioning her is trying to determine whether he should accept her into the school or not.
Jane Eyre does not make Jane's Chrisitan journey a focus point, but it does show a steady progression to a godly, self-sacrificing woman.
So, I definitely think that this conversation shows heart issues on either side. Jane is slowly refined throughout the book, and presumably the other side is not.
I agree that 'hating' parts of God's word isn't really possible if our eyes are fixed on Him. We may not like everything we read, but I don't believe truly hating it is possible.