Engaging Scripture as a Path to Personal Transformation
Approaching Scripture requires learning how to see beyond fixed answers. The method of midrash invites ongoing questions instead of rigid interpretations. This openness challenges us to engage the text personally, asking what it demands from us rather than imposing certainty. To use the text in a spiritual way is to allow it to convert you, to change you, to grow you up as you respond: What does this ask of me? Before interpreting, it is essential to seek guidance beyond the ego, creating space for honesty and detachment. True insight comes from listening for a voice that encourages growth without fear or shame. If an interpretation nurtures qualities like love, peace, and kindness, it likely aligns with deeper wisdom. But if it breeds judgment, superiority, or division, it reveals the ego’s influence, not the Spirit’s. This approach calls for humility and continual self-examination in spiritual reading.
May the Spirit guide us beyond certainty into humility,
opening our hearts to be changed
by the wisdom that calls us to love and growth.
(inspired by Richard Rohr, Midrash; What Do We Do with the Bible?)