Have you ever seen the "Jefferson Bible?" Thomas Jefferson excised those parts of scripture that he felt were superfluous, ambiguous or flew in the face of reason. It was his goal to create a seamless, solid narrative about Jesus, without including supernatural or questionable content that could get in the way or raise doubts.

It sounds silly, but don't most of us approach scripture a little like this? We often stick with safe, familiar passages that build us up or reassure us. And when faced with hard texts, like this week's, it's tempting to rush past them into more comforting territory. Yet sometimes when the Bible challenges or stretches us, we grow the most in faith. It can be a struggle to figure out what God is saying. But, as Christians, we believe that - even when it's difficult - God's word is a living word, and that God speaks through it still today.