I’ve always been a tad annoyed that Honest Abe gets credit for something that Jesus said. Lincolns’ was a famous speech in 1858 on the topic of slavery. His argumentation was that the popular sovereignty, advocated by his opponent Stephen Douglas, was impossible given the recent Dred Scott case. The nation would either have to be all slave or all free. If the nation remained divided it would topple.
I know there is much debate about whether or not Lincoln was a believer. I’ve heard compelling cases on both sides. But what I do know of Lincoln is that he knew his Bible. In fact, I believe this is part of the reason why this “house divided against itself” quote is now more attributed to Lincoln than Jesus. Lincoln was so steeped in the Bible that he’d speak it’s language without bothering to quote it. Stephen Mansfield explains:
He could tell when someone misquoted the Bible and usually offered chapter and verse for where the correct words were found. He worked phrases from Scripture into his daily conversations with such ease that often his listeners did not realize until later he had mentioned a dozen verses from the Bible in a single visit with friends. (Mansfield, Lincoln’s Battle with God, Location 2688)
Does that rebuke you? I know it does me. I wonder how often my language is more shaped by pop culture than the Bible. Do I quote movies “with such ease” that folks don’t even know that what I said was from a 90’s comedy? Am I more like Bunyan/Lincoln that if you pricked me with a pen I’d bleed Bible? Or would Wayne’s World and The Office bleed out?
And I wonder if there is another point in here somewhere too. That if Lincoln really wasn’t a believer all the Bible knowledge in the world isn’t doing him much good now. I’m sure that Satan is quite masterful at quoting the Scriptures (out of context and without proper worship, of course).
As I ponder this little tidbit form the life of Lincoln it’s an encouragement for me to follow Lincoln in his devouring of the Scriptures. I want to be sure that I know the Bible so well that I speak it’s language. I don’t want to just speak theological terms or that I’m at home in theological conversations, I want to be heavily steeped in the language of the Bible. Secondly, I don’t simply want to master the Word and know the Bible. I want to be mastered by the Word. I want every word of God to shape every bit of my being.
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