How To Not Feel Like a Fool Around The Bible -by Patrick Morley

One of my seminary professors told the story about a man who went hiking on a cold winter day. He came to a river that appeared to be frozen over. But since he was unfamiliar with the area, he didn’t know how thick the ice was. 

Naturally, he was afraid to walk out and fall through. So he got down on his stomach and slowly began to inch out onto the ice. When he had crawled near the middle of the river, the air began to tremble as he heard a rumbling sound draw closer and closer. Suddenly a wagon with four horses at a full gallop shot over the crest of the riverbank, thundered across the river, then disappeared over the ridge on the other side. And there he was, lying on the ice, feeling foolish. It’s difficult to trust something we don’t know much about, isn’t it? The man had difficulty trusting the ice because he didn’t know much about the river. But it isn’t odd he felt that way. What would have been odd is if he had walked up to an unfamiliar frozen river and confidently stepped out on it. That would make him a fool. So it is with the Bible. Nothing builds confidence and faith like using it enough that we're the seasoned wagoner, not the casual hiker.