In my small group, we finished off a study of Ephesians. My group leader asked us what we thought about Paul asking people not to pray that he be let out of prison.
I responded by setting the context. I said that Paul asked in Acts, as a Roman citizen, to appeal his case to Caesar. Caesar at that point was Nero. I talked about how Paul must have laid the Gospel onto Nero at least as hard as he did on the leaders in Judea.
Then my group leader asked "So how does that apply to us today?"
I opened my mouth to ask "Does it have to?" before I shut it down.
I didn't shut it down because I thought I was wrong. I often do quiet down in small group (those who know me may have a hard time believing it) because I realize not everyone has the same perspective I do. And I have a lifetime of study ahead of me.
The study then turned to "God's will for our lives", where I also kept quiet. Partly because that wasn't the forum for my thoughts, partly because I'd run my mouth enough in that small group session, and partly because I've already shared what I think about "God's will for MOST of our lives" in there.
So back to the main question that launched this post: does every last piece of Scripture have to "apply to us today"? I think a bunch of it does. But I don't think all of it does. I think parts of it are meant for us to say "Wow! I can't believe God did that!" without us also asking "So, like, when is God going to do that for me?" Otherwise, I have a long list of people who need their teeth broken in their mouths.
