This is one of those posts where you sort of have a prayer in your heart that everything will come out right.
I've been reading the New Testament for scripture study every day in an attempt to focus on the life of the Savior, His miracles, and His character. I've had a lot of insights over the past couple of weeks, but I just had one tonight that I knew I needed to write out.
One of the study techniques I sometimes use when I'm reading scripture is thinking about "white space." It means reading between the lines, asking questions, and imagining what happens within the text that is not really said. For example, when the Savior beckons Peter to come out on the water, Peter comes and then begins to sink when he loses focus on Christ and instead looks at the wind, waves and storm. The Savior immediately catches Peter as he cries out for help. The verse that follows in Matthew 14:32 (KJV) reads:
And when they were come into the ship, the wind ceased.
Using the white space technique, we might realize there's a lot unsaid here. How far did Peter make it out on the water? How did the Savior and Peter make it back? How did Peter feel with the storm still raging and the Savior by his side? These questions lead to deeper thinking and a more realistic portrayal of these stories. I had some interesting insights and conversations about this passage of scripture, but I'll maybe save those thoughts for another time.
The realization I had tonight as I was reading was that the majority of the New Testament is white space. Much of the New Testament is stories and parables strung together without a real sense of time. While these passages are of course valuable and teach us so much about Christ and how we can follow Him, i wonder about the life of the Savior beyond the text of the Gospels. Because of His divinity, I have no doubt that there are no surprises or weak aspects of His character. On the contrary, I'm wondering how much of His goodness is left omitted from the pages.
Did He take time to listen to people and comfort them?
Did He heal and make whole others beyond the bounds of this book?
Did He spend time in meditation and prayer, communing with the Father?
Did He serve others in experiences never recorded?
Did He mourn with the grieving and weep with the brokenhearted?
Based on Christ's character exhibited in the scriptures and His hand which I have seen in my own life, I would be inclined to respond to each of these questions with a confident "Yes." I can imagine nothing less.
And this made me think a little bit more about my day-to-day interactions with others. And by no means do I intend to put myself on the same level as my Savior, but we are all encouraged to emulate Him and strive to ever be like Him. So, on that note, I think about everything I do in a day--about everything everyone does in a day--and I think about all the actions that might go unnoticed by ourselves and others. But if we are truly trying to become like the Savior, does it matter? Does it matter if anyone sees what we do? No. What matters is that we are following the Savior and loving each other as the individual children of God that we are.
If someone were to make a record of my life, what do I hope would be in the white spaces? I hope that there would be small services and kindnesses. I hope there would be countless prayers to my Father in Heaven. I hope there would be good thoughts and empathetic tears. I hope there would be the Savior in every white space in my life story.
I look forward to continuing to read the New Testament and taking notice of the white spaces and coming closer to my Savior by reflecting more on His life and character, both within and beyond the text of the New Testament.