If I had written the Bible, I think I would have included one extra book just after Revelation. It would be kind of like a P.S. to God’s letter to us. An addendum of sorts like the Maps or the Concordance, but more holy that than that, of course. And I’d have named it the book of “Etcetera” because, let’s face it, that just sounds biblical.

A few years ago,  my husband and I were in the hospital with our middle child, Canaan, who was having his tonsils and adenoids removed and tubes put in his ears. We knew that we had made the right decision, but two weeks before, when the pediatrician and the ENT were not agreeing and when conflicting advice was coming in from family members, friends and all over the Internet, I really wished we had one extra book of the Bible to know which decision was correct. Etcetera 31:5, “Thou shalt remove thy child’s tonsils now rather than delayeth.”

Have you ever wished for a book of Etcetera? Something straight from God with clear answers to all of those gray-area questions like: How many children should we have? When should I retire? Which major should I choose? Should we go with logo A or logo B for our new business? Who should I marry?

Well God didn’t give us the book of Etcetera, and I think I’ve finally realized why. It would have ruined our relationship with Him. If we had an Etcetera-kind of book of the Bible, we’d treat God like a Magic 8 Ball, running to Him when we have a question and forgetting about Him two seconds after we have our answer. But God wants to be more than that to us. He wants us to know Him intimately, to trust Him completely and to depend on Him entirely.

The answers to those gray-area questions become clearer the closer we are to God. Sure, they’re never as black-and-white as a “Thou shalt” or “Thou shalt not” command, but as our relationship with Him grows over time, it becomes easier to know His will in those gray areas.

Q: Have you ever wished for a book of Etcetera? What answers would you hope to find in it?