Psalm 119:94 Details

I'm sure it's just the writer in me, but I'm generally more interested in the trees than forest. Actually, I'm more interested in the leaves and the veins on the leaves. It's the details I care about.

I'm an avid - some would say obsessive - fan of Missouri Tigers Baseball. When I'm at the game I'm watching the batter's stance and the rituals he goes through as he steps up tot he plate. I'm watching the way the fielders shift positions depending on the hitter at the plate and the game situation. When I'm absorbed in the details, all other thoughts disappear.

But if I'm unable to go to the game, I'm barely interested in the final score. The score isn't what it's about for me. It's about the details.

It's the same with reading a book or watching a TV series. Spoilers don't bother me. I've read the entire graphic novel series of The Walking Dead, which is considerably ahead in the timeline compared to the TV show. So I'm seldom surprised at the direction of the plot, unless they intentionally change something.

But that's okay, because I watch the show for the details. I love it for the gradual character development and the individual conversations and scenes that all combine to move the plot forward.

With novels, I'm not interested in reading something just to see what happens, unless it's well written and fascinating in the details.

I don't really understand people who approach such things differently than I do.

Save me, for I am yours; 
I have sought out your precepts.

Psalm 119:94

In the story of life with God, there are also two different ways of living it out.

Some people are content with a generalized faith. They believe in God and in the general, overarching themes of the Bible. But they're not much interested in the details.

David calls those details the precepts. He uses that word 21 times in Psalm 119. He tends to use the various terms for the scriptures somewhat randomly, but each one carries a slightly different connotation. The Hebrew word pikkudim is used to describe the mandates of someone who is in charge, the particular instructions of someone who cares to spell out the details.

Many people are content to cry out, "Save me, for I am yours!"

David cares about the details enough to go beyond crying out for salvation. He wants to go deeper, seeking out the precepts, digging down to the details of the story God wants to write through him.

I want to dig deep too - not to discover the minutiae of theology, but to understand the fullness of God's plan for my life.