Reading the Bible is not really about reading the Bible
All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. – John 1:3
The beginning of the year is a good time to start new things. If you are a new Christian or just need to work on the spiritual discipline of spending time in God’s word, now is a good time to start. I remember the reason I first started reading the Bible was because I made a conscious decision to part with my old life. I remember thinking since I had believed that Jesus’ sacrifice covered my sins, I would be a hypocrite for saying I was a Christian but not knowing or caring what God had to say. Consequently, I decided to crack open the good Book, but I didn’t understand anything I read. I tried and failed. But I opened it the next day and tried again. I discovered that learning to read the Bible is no exception when it comes to riding the learning curve.
Riding the Learning Curve
There are four stages of the learning curve. Stage one of the learning curve is when we don’t know what we don’t know. When I first started reading the Bible, I knew nothing, but my time was a commitment to God of the sincerity of my repentance. I would hear the sermons on Sunday, but sometimes I didn’t know if the person behind the pulpit was telling the truth according to the Bible or just sharing their own opinion.
Stage Two. Then we learn a little and we become aware that we don’t know, but we know some things. I began to read the Bible more, I realized there was so much more to God then I thought. I couldn’t box Him in. I couldn’t figure out the formula.
Stage Three. Then we get better, and we know it. I began to connect the dots. The more I read, the more I saw the watermark of God’s footprint throughout the Bible. There was a method to the madness, a consistency in the chaos.
Throughout this whole process, my life was changing, my thoughts and understanding about life, purpose, and people flip flopped.
Until, finally, there comes a point on the learning curve when we just know, almost like intuition. Reading God’s word was not only reading but conversation with God that transformed my mind. My lifestyle seamlessly danced with my new reality.
It’s not really about reading the words on a page
Clearly, I am not sinless, and I don’t understand everything in the Bible and about God. But I search the Bible to talk with Him, to know Him, to fall deeper in love with Him, to peer into the heart of the One who made all things so that I can make sense of at least some things, as I trust Him for the rest. Reading my Bible is not just reading my Bible. Reading my Bible is about my love relationship with God.
