Reading and Understanding

"Dad, what's an alibi?"  Elliot asked me.  Actually, he said the word 'Alee-bee' which made it tough to figure out what he was asking.

"An alibi is the place and people you were with at the time when a crime was committed," I said, although if I was a good dad, I would probably have made him go look it up in the dictionary.

"That doesn't make sense," Elliot said.  "In this Encyclopedia Brown book he tells this girl that her alibi is all wet.  But how could you have a wet alibi?  It's not like she was swimming or anything."

Without waiting, he turned back to his book.  A second later he asked, "What does it mean to file something?"

"It means to put it in some sort of an organizing place -- like a filing cabinet,"  I said.

"That doesn't make any sense either,"  Elliot said.  "Oh, I see, there must be a special place that some people put their fingernails instead of a trash can."

I hastened to explain the word file in this context.  At the same time, it was clear to me that Elliot wasn't understanding all of the stories in this book.

It strikes me that many people deal with the Bible in this fashion.  They may understand the words, but the deeper meaning of the verses and stories isn't clear to them.

It is only as we read it with our heavenly Father at our side and listen to His voice that we can have a true understanding of the passages.  It is only then that God's Word will make a difference in our lives.