Tim Tschida: The Garden of Scripture, Illusions and Fullness
Read Introduction to The Garden of Scripture
The Garden of Scripture
Illusions and Fullness
An enchanted Christian social imaginary will involve revisiting what it means to be human and the nature of the divine–human relationship.[1]
—Cheryl Bridges Johns
I am a fan of the ocean, particularly the northeast Atlantic, where I spent many summers and lived for six years. Whenever possible, I would spend a whole day at the beach swimming, even though the water temperature averaged sixty degrees. When I got into my late teens and early twenties, I preferred to walk along the beach in the evening and look out at the ocean as if it had an answer I was looking for. I have to admit that I was looking for something. I was looking for purpose and inspiration to figure out who I was and thinking that, at any point, all the answers would pop into my head if I stared out at the horizon long enough. It didn’t happen, and it didn’t happen because I wasn’t looking in the right place.
So, where did I find those answers? It sounds cliché, but I found purpose and inspiration in reading Scripture and discovered who I was when I gave myself to Christ. And something happens; it’s like a path, a process, or a paradox. The more I give up my life to Christ, the more I discover who I am. It’s a continual growth in understanding my identity in Jesus.
Nevertheless, there are some things my time at the beach taught me. I found that crabs prefer to hide under seaweed on the clustered rocks by the water. I discovered that if shattered glass is in the sea long enough, it becomes smooth around the edges and strangely captivating to the eye, so much so that people collect the glass. I also learned that water often magnifies what’s beneath it, giving the illusion that what’s on the bottom is only a few inches or less from the water’s surface. As a child, I would test that illusion frequently in tidepools, thinking them to be only a few inches deep, but I often found that the water would go up to my knee. In school, we learn things under the water; even the surface under the water looks larger and closer because the light is being refracted, not traveling in a straight line anymore, slowing down, which causes magnification. Thus, the illusion comes to life.
In my time as a student, minister, and teacher, I’ve observed that a lot of people, both Christians and non-Christians, sometimes view the Bible the same way as the tidepool. Those who pick up the Bible for the first time, even veterans, might see something beautiful, like one would with the mini eco-systems in a tidepool, and reach their hand in only to find they are in over their head, barely treading water. However, people who oppose Christianity and have already made up their minds about it and what they’ve heard the Bible says only see the illusion of shallowness and don’t even bother to reach in.
Problems With Illusions
I think the illusion partly happens because we don’t always know how much of the Bible we should take literally. But the word “literally” is casually thrown around so often that we must try to discern what the word means in the sense of interpreting the Bible. That is no easy task because it has been bogged down by so much historical baggage from the last hundred and fifty years. Typically, a literal reading of Scripture is supposed to be tied to a type of interpretation called the historical-grammatical method that seeks to discern the meaning of a passage as the author intended it to be understood. Using this method, the setting and circumstances of why the biblical book was written need to be identified, including the historical aspect. The other element, the grammatical, determines what the words and sentences in a passage mean and what genre it is written in so that the passage can be “plainly” communicated.
It is sad to say that the weaponization of the word has occurred within Christianity, with its own members warring against each other.
“You actually believe God made the world in six literal days? You, poor dear. I hope you come out of your cave soon.”
“You don’t believe the number the Bible gives for the Israelites in the wilderness is accurate? I hear hell is hot this time of year.”
The problem is it seems like some Christians gave into the stereotypes. Eventually, those Christians began to interpret the Bible and apply things to their faith that a “literal” interpretation was never meant for us to apply. Suddenly, the Hebrew cosmology of a three-tiered creation seen in Hannah’s prayer, depicting a flat world, must be applied to our time despite a wealth of information that proves otherwise. However, others began dismissing parts of the Bible that a “literal” interpretation was meant for us to apply, such as belief in the resurrection of Jesus and sexual integrity.[2] And now, a literal interpretation is synonymous with not allowing any other interpretive methods because they’re seen as sinful or worldly by those whose idea of literal interpretation is infused with rigid dogmatism. And those who have a much more nuanced view of a literal view are looked down upon. Then politics had to be injected, and that never helped anything. What’s worse is that the loudest voices in the room are the ones that are on the extreme fringes of each side, each vying for control of the “true” message of the Bible. Interestingly, one part of Christianity always tries to speak for the whole of Christianity.[3]
I bring all of this up because it has made Bible reading more difficult for many people who already struggle, it makes it harder for those who are called to teach, and it turns people off from even picking up the Bible; it shouldn’t be like this. In the secular world, humanity has found many ways to maim and kill one another, but in Christianity, depending on who we listen to, it can seem like we are acquiring a lot of methods to maim and kill our faith.
Poor teaching about literal interpretation has made Bible reading more difficult for many people who already struggle.
Our obsession with time, not having enough, and not having good quality is, of course, symptomatic of our era. So many books and people tell us to slow down, reprioritize, simplify, and be mindful. Yet, we might not have enough time to read or listen to those voices. However, let’s say we do listen, and we then decide to read for fifteen minutes, but then we are overcome with the thought of that not being enough time. We wonder, is that even enough time to gain a worthwhile understanding of God? Can I get to know God more in just fifteen minutes? My answer is yes. God can do more in fifteen minutes than we can imagine, even if we don’t realize it until later. But we have to be okay with that small amount of time.
The reason I believe we need to be okay with only being able to give God a small amount of our time has to do with motive. When we reach our hand into the tidepool, our motive is to grab what’s at the bottom because we are eager to get an up-close look at whatever the object is, be it a starfish or a periwinkle shell; we’re curious. We will only learn so much through mere curiosity; we learn much more through faithful, consistent, and committed curiosity. The award for that accrues over time, and suddenly, we find we know that object at the bottom of the tidepool intimately. The dedication to reading the Bible consistently, even if it’s only for a short amount of time, is like that, but only sort of. It is only “sort of” like that because even though God is the object of our faith and study, and we are getting to know him more intimately, God is not an object like a periwinkle shell or a sand dollar. Instead, he reveals that we are one of his most prized objects and demonstrates how intimately he already knows us. So, over time, our motive must shift from genuine curiosity to one that accepts and tries to understand how God uses the Bible to form his people into an object, a living vessel that reflects his glory.
The issue of time can be healed when the above motive shifts along with the petition to God for more time. God is perfectly able to move us out of what restricts us from him, whatever our excuses, especially in the hyper-distracted West. Our job is to relent, sacrifice, and use that time wisely. Part of using time wisely is coming to terms with the fact that we will not instantaneously learn everything we need to know about the Bible and what God is saying to us in one reading. When we heed that wisdom, we become like the trusty characters in Jesus’ parable of the talents. In the parable, Jesus tells his disciples that a person who owns a lot of property needs to head out of town, so he asks three of his workers to manage the property, giving one worker five talents (an amount of money equal to 75 years’ wages), the second worker two talents, and the third worker one talent. While the property manager was away, the two with the most money invested what they had in unnamed things and doubled the amount given to them. When the property owner returns and the first two workers tell him the good news, he rewards them with more responsibility, which is joyfully received. However, the worker with only one talent buried the money in the field and attacked the property owner’s character upon his return (Matt 28:14–28). The parable ends with that worker being fired and evicted from the property. Jesus’ lesson is that those who receive from God and put it into action will receive more from him. When we ask God for more time to get closer to him, he’ll give it to us.
John and Rachel
Indeed, it will take time to read the Bible, as it should. Relationships take time, and finite humans encounter the infinite God in Scripture. We will not master the Bible over our lifetime either, even if we better understand it toward the end of our lives. That means it will not always be simple. We should probably be wary when people say the Bible has a “simple teaching” about God. A “simple teaching” is like looking at a flower and saying, “This is a flower.” Though it is true that the Gospel, the message of Christ, is simple enough for a child to understand, it by no means stays simple but grows more profound the more we mature as readers. So, while some are intent on staying at a simple teaching, the Bible continues to the depths God meant it for. It can be kind of like John and Rachel’s story here:
John was strolling through his neighborhood on a splendid midsummer evening. As he climbed a small hill, he saw a bush dotted with vibrant red shapes. The closer John came to it, the more he realized it was a rose bush. John then noticed that the owner of the home where the rose bush was, an older woman who appeared to be in her mid-fifties, was watering the lawn. John picked up his stride to reach her before she finished and went inside.
“Excuse me,” John said, panting.
“Hello,” she returned warmly. “You’re John, right?”
“Yes, that’s right,” he returned as he caught his breath. “I apologize; I don’t believe I’ve ever asked you your name.”
The woman chucked and batted a hand at him. “Don’t worry, I’m afraid I’m somewhat of a busybody, but my name is Beverly. Oh, but I prefer Bev.”
“Excellent,” John replied. “It’s a pleasure to meet you. Listen, I stopped by because I was wondering if I could get a closer look at the rose bush? It’s magnificent!”
“Of course,” she said, smiling warmly again at him while waving him over.
The roses were even better up closer. Examining the lushness and vitality of the rose petals, John was mesmerized. “I don’t believe I’ve ever seen such a healthy rose bush before,” he exclaimed.
“Ah, yes,” Bev replied kindly. “I bought them at a nursery on the other side of town at the recommendation of a friend. It’s called Vera’s.”
Still entranced by the roses, John replied, “I wouldn’t mind having these in my yard as well.”
“I can give you the address if you’d like? The owner is wonderful! She’s younger than I thought she’d be but packed full of knowledge,” said Bev.
Bev’s question put John on the spot, and he had to think it over briefly. John wondered if he said he wanted a rose bush like the one in front of him because he really desired it or said it because he was being friendly. He at least decided to take the address.
“Yes, thank you,” he replied as he got out his phone to type in the address.
When she finished, John politely said goodbye and continued his evening walk.
Later in the evening, as John was shaving after a shower, he found his mind becoming fixated on the rose bush again. He’d been telling the truth when he said they were magnificent. Perhaps it would be nice to step out into his yard and see something like that daily; maintaining them would be worth the effort. John then determined that he’d visit the nursery the next day, talk to the owner, and decide.
The following morning, John ate his breakfast, got dressed, and made good on the decision the night before to visit Vera’s. He pulled up the address on his phone’s navigation app and found it was only fifteen minutes from his home. Finally arriving, John discovered a modest-sized shop with an attached greenhouse a shade larger. He entered, and what he found surprised him. So many healthy flowers, both common and uncommon, were all arranged in humble but enchanting displays. Colors popped out at him from every direction, and plants in the greenhouse resembled a picturesque tropical island; there was even a place in the back of the property filled with young trees and various shrubs. It reminded John of the imagery in C. S. Lewis’s Perelandra, which he read back in college. No wonder the rose bush appeared so wonderful, coming from a place like this!
John then tried to track down the owner. The nursery was a bit busy with it being a weekend, but it wasn’t crowded. He asked one employee at the cash register, a young college-aged boy if he knew where the owner was. The boy was unsure and told him to ask the assistant manager who was in the greenhouse. Stepping down in the greenhouse, he spotted a young woman in a forest green polo with a badge bearing the name “Kristen.”
“Excuse me,” he said, walking up to her. “The cashier told me you might know where I could find the owner.”
The young Kristen looked up at him politely but uneasily. “Yes, she’s out in the back,” she replied. “I can take you to her.”
“Thank you,” John replied as friendly as he could.
As the two walked back into the shop, where the doors leading to the back part of the property were, John tried to strike up some small talk.
“So, how long have you been working here?” John asked.
“Oh, about two years,” she replied casually.
“Do you like it?”
“Yeah, I do. My aunt is the owner. Yay, nepotism!” She said jokingly.
They passed through the double doors into a sizable open-air but fenced-in area. Kristen spied around quickly and spotted her aunt, who had her back to them and was inspecting a few pots containing stargazer lilies. She then continued to escort John toward the woman.
“Aunt Rachel?” Kristen called out.
The woman turned around, revealing her somewhat bookish appearance, but had sun-kissed skin, deep brown hair, and a welcoming smile. To John’s embarrassment, he found himself quite taken with her looks.
“Aunt Rachel,” Kristen said again as they approached her. “I think this man had a few questions for you.”
“How can I help you,” she asked with a soft yet assertive voice, removing her glasses.
She had large and captivating blue eyes. John tried not to stare. “Hi, thank you. This place was recommended by my neighbor, Bev.”
“Oh, I love Bev!” Rachel replied. “She is a dream customer and so pleasant.”
“Well,” John continued, “I saw the rose bush in her yard, and I couldn’t stop thinking about it. To be honest, I don’t think about flowers that much. I’m not exactly one for gardening, but the rose bush was brilliant, and she told me she got the bulbs from here. So, I thought I’d come by and check this place out and ask why those roses looked so good.”
Rachel blushed somewhat at his comments. “Well, a lot of that has to do with the gardener, but our website offers a lot of information on how to tend a garden.”
“I see. Did you go to school for all of this?” He asked awkwardly.
“Not exactly,” Rachel replied. “I spent my summers with my grandmother, the “Vera” in Vera’s Nursey, and she’s the one who taught me all I know. Although, to be fair, she was a botanist turned horticulturalist.”
“Does she work here as well,” John asked.
Rachel’s face became a bit downcast at the question, which made John feel a little stupid.
“No,” she said. “Unfortunately, she passed away a few years after I got out of college,” she trailed off. “But this shop is dedicated to her legacy.”
After a few more minutes of conversation, John decided to buy a bulb of a rose bush and try his hand at growing it. When he arrived home, he looked up the store’s website and followed its instructions on properly planting and maintaining it to ensure growth. Over the next two weeks, he watched it as it grew, noticing several healthy buds. John also thought of Rachel and how there was more of a story behind her relationship with her grandmother based on her solemn response to his question.
A few more days went by, and over that time, he prepared a place in his backyard to plant more flowers, following the website’s instructions. While genuinely wanting to grow more things, he also wanted to see Rachel again. When the garden bed was finished, he returned to Vera’s Nursery. John was able to track her down and thanked her for the success he experienced. He then asked if she had any advice on what else he could plant as a beginner, to which she suggested Daylilies. John did something else, though, something as risky as planting roses with no experience; he asked her out for coffee. Although she eyed him carefully when he asked, Rachel agreed.
To John’s amazement, they met several more times after their coffee date. During one meeting in particular, Rachel decided to share more about the relationship between her and her Grandmother, Vera. The relationship the two shared wasn’t just based on gardening but on the bond of love. Rachel’s grandmother passed on her wisdom as well as her skills. When she wasn’t with her grandmother in the summer, they’d talk on the phone several times a week. Rachel even shared how she’d gotten pregnant in college, thinking her grandmother was going to kill her, and admitted her parents were furious. Vera was upset with her, naturally, but continued to offer the love she always had. Then, through tears, Rachel recounted the care her grandmother gave her when she went through the devastation of miscarrying the pregnancy.
That admittance by Rachel marked a turning point in John’s relationship with her; it was a brave step to take in sharing with him. John knew then that he wanted to marry Rachel, and after a few more months, he popped the question, to which she answered with an excited “Yes!”
Soon after their marriage, the imagery of Perelandra became a reality. Rachel transformed his yard into a paradise. No, it was their yard now, their paradise.
In this story, John avoided the error of thinking he had all of the information he needed about the roses just by looking at them. Had he not taken the time to go on the journey of finding the owner of the nursery, he would have missed out on a world of meaning, on a grand story that spans generations, and John would have missed out on the person he’d spend the rest of his life with. John was faithful to his journey even though it led him away from himself and to another. However, he also finds a more complete version of himself when he develops a relationship with Rachel. Although it is not a perfect example, the story illustrates that a faithful reading—which keeps context in mind—of the Bible leads us away from ourselves and to the God who revealed himself in it. Yet, the more we are led away from ourselves and to God, the more we find a complete version of ourselves as we find that God has authored us. Like John and Rachel’s story and the way flowers unfold as they bloom, the story of Scripture unfolds as we take the steps that lead beyond the surface of a “simple teaching.” We must be humble then and not rush to conclusions, nor should we be intent on thinking we will understand everything correctly when the Bible is meant to consume a lifetime of study.
Prismatic Fullness
The unfolding of meaning in the Bible reflects another thing about God. In chapter 3 of Ephesians, the Apostle Paul says, “Through the church the wisdom of God in its rich variety might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places” (Eph 3:10). The word Paul uses for “rich variety,” which can also be translated as “manifold,” is the Greek word polypoikilos. The word can mean many-sided or many-colored. We can think of God’s wisdom then as a jewel with many facets. When light passes through this jewel, the eye is treated to seeing the color spectrum when it’s cast onto a surface. The difference, though, is that God emits his own light. So, in this sense, he is both the jewel and the light. What God gives us in Scripture is layered; it is multifaceted because he is multifaceted, but everything he gives us leads to himself. That is why we must be careful of people who teach their method of reading Scripture as the only valid method and disregard what others can contribute. Not only does it smack of fundamentalism, which is more of an attitude than a denomination, but it isn’t humble either. God is more significant than even the most faithful reading we can devise.
Part of using time wisely is coming to terms with the fact that we will not instantaneously learn everything we need to know about the Bible and what God is saying to us in one reading.
Understanding God’s fullness might look like what theologian and pastor Tony Richie discusses in his book Essentials of Pentecostal Theology [Editor’s note: read the review by John Lathrop]. In it, he attempts to trace out the “theology of fullness” to support the Pentecostal practice of Spirit-baptism. While defending such a doctrine is not the focus of this section (even though I’m a Pentecostal Christian), Richie guides readers of the Bible by pointing out how the language of “filling” is a prominent and favored figure of speech throughout Scripture, especially relating to divine truth and spiritual experience.[4] To do this, he teases it out in a few ways. First, Richie points out how God fills creation, citing several verses such as Numbers 14:21, where God says, “Nevertheless—as I live, and as all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the LORD.”[5] The author then points out that God even fills the homes of his people and their mouths with praise (Neh 9:25, Ps 71:8).
The nature of filling continues all the way through the New Testament in the disciples and onlookers reactions to Christ’s miracles and provision (Luke 5:26, John 2:7). Then, filling takes on another dimension in the book of Acts as the disciples are filled with the Holy Spirit who empowers them to preach the Gospel boldly and perform signs and wonders (Acts 2:1–4, 3:1–8, 5:12–16, 8:4–13, 9:40–41, etc.). Many whom the Apostles encountered, however, also experienced a filling/baptism of the Spirit, such as when Peter and John ministered to the same Samaritans as Philip (8:14–17) and when Cornelius came into the faith through Peter’s preaching (10:44–46).[6] Richie gives several other examples, but his work recalls the words of King David when he says, “Where can I go from your spirit? Or where can I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there” (Ps 139:7–8).
On the other hand, we must also acknowledge that we can be filled in different ways that don’t reflect God. To see this, we only need to look back to Genesis 1. At the end of the chapter, God gives Adam and Eve the divine mandate to “be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it” (Gen 1:28). Instead, they fill the earth with violence because they disobeyed God’s command of not eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.[7] This indicates that it turns into negative behavior when humanity tries to supplement God’s fullness for their own. For example, when coming across Jesus, religious leaders were “filled with wrath (Luke 4:28).” The infilling of rage would continue as they schemed and devised (the harmful use of imagination) how to arrest and execute Jesus, which eventually culminated with his execution.
As the gospels tell us, however, Jesus is resurrected, thereby defeating sin, the power of death, and Satan. He then bestows his promise of the Spirit’s coming (Acts 1:8), fulfilled in Acts 2. While we see miraculous signs performed by the Apostles through the power of the Spirit throughout the book of Acts, the Holy Spirit is given to all believers. He inhabits our lives (Eph 1:13) and pours out God’s love into our hearts (Rom 5:5); He is “God with us.” The primary activity of the Holy Spirit in our lives is to sanctify and form our characters to resemble Christ, along with empowering our witness of Jesus. We are pressed by the Apostles to keep in step with the Spirit’s guidance (Gal 5:25), and in this way, we can be victorious over the works of the flesh that seek to fill us with the desires of a fallen world.
Nevertheless, we still see through a mirror darkly, as Paul says (1 Cor 13:12). We only know in part, so we don’t always understand we are surrounded by the fullness of God. This is because even though Jesus inaugurated the Kingdom of God at his resurrection, his return will fully realize the Kingdom of God. As the Apostle John wrote, “Beloved, we are God’s children now; what we will be has not yet been revealed. What we do know is this: when he is revealed, we will be like him, for we will see him as he is” (1 John 3:3). That is why, as readers of the Bible, we need to be dependent on the leading and filling of the Spirit of God. It’s in this filling and dependence that we experience the fullness of God in this life and in Scripture, in its rich variety, so that we can prepare for the face-to-face fullness of God in the eternal life to come.
As we grasp this fullness of God, which is experienced both temporally and spiritually over our whole life, the illusion begins to fade, and the truth becomes clear because we are consistently learning. The sea we had mistaken for a tidepool and had become over our heads then suddenly turns into the water of life whose depths we humbly explore.
PR
This chapter is an excerpt from Tim Tschida’s book, The Garden of Scripture: Growing Your Confidence in the Bible (Resource Publications, 2025). Used with permission.
Notes
[1] Johns, Re-Enchanting The Text, 43.
[2] The disbelief in the resurrection has existed since at least Enlightenment in some capacity but has become more widespread among those who promote Jesus only for his moral and ethical teachings.
[3] Lewis, God In The Dock, 217. In an essay featured in the book, Lewis confronts the idea of a Christian political party in England noting it wouldn’t be successful because as soon as it makes certain accommodations or takes money from non–Christian financiers, it would cease being Christian. It also wouldn’t be able to speak for the whole of Christianity simply because English Christianity is only part of the body of Christ, not the whole thing. The same can be said for Christian denominations who try to control the definition of a “true” interpretation of the Bible.
[4] Tony Richie, Essentials of Pentecostal Theology, 133.
[5] Tony Richie, Essentials of Pentecostal Theology, 133.
[6] Tony Richie, Essentials of Pentecostal Theology, 133.
[7] Tony Richie, Essentials of Pentecostal Theology, 133.
Category: Biblical Studies, Spring 2025
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