Meaghan McGann Dr. Johnson BITH 315 | 4 September 2015, Short Response #1 J. Todd Billings writes about the tension apparent within allowing scripture to speak into | the life of the believer while not adapting scripture to fit into the believer’s life. Billings asserts that ultimately we do not want God to be in control; we want to be our own masters. Even as we approach scripture with the desire for greater understanding we fall into the trap of attempting to exert control over God’s word. ‘As I was reading this text, one of my roommates and I got into a conversation about how much we want to understand, about how little we do actually know, and about why we have such + a hard time handing over control of these unknowns to God. She told me a story about Corrie Ten Boom: As a little girl, Corrie had never ridden on a train before. When the opportunity arose for Corrie’s first train ride, she couldn’t help but express feelings of both grown-up excitement and nervous anxiety. Corrie was not in possession of her train ticket; her father had promised that he would hold onto it for her until she needed it. Unfortunately, this only furthered Cortie’s anxiety. As the day of departure neared, she became more and more worried about losing the ticket or some other horrible mishap befalling her pass. When the fateful day finally arrived, Corrie’s father calmly took out the ticket. He looked it over, making sure all the details were in order, then handed it to Corrie for her to hand to the conductor as she climbed aboard the train, The transaction was seamless, Corrie’s father left no room for the ticket to get lost or confused. >) He knew that she didn’t actually need the ticket until she climbed onto the train, He waited to give Corrie the ticket until just the right time, \ Tso badly want to have control over what’s next, over what I know and don’t know. However God is good and faithful and He is consistently showing me that! don’t need to know | everything right now. He will reveal Himself in His proper time. 23) v