Do we read God’s holy book?
You know, the one to which we devote several lines in our doctrinal statements insisting that it is inspired and infallible, breathed by God, our lamp and light, etc.
We consider it important enough to articulate and defend our views of its lofty nature, but do we consider it important enough to read? Wouldn’t that be a greater witness to its sharp and powerful nature than a paragraph in our church documents.
We bemoan its absence in schools but do we have the same anxiety that it may be absent in our lives save a couple hours on Sunday morning?
So do we really read it?
Have you ever thought that God wants to speak to you daily? To you personally and directly, not through a radio program or the pastor of your church. To you. Do you give him that opportunity through a living relationship with him through his words?
I don’t know. It’s sometimes a hard question to ask, especially to ask someone who has been following Christ for a while.
Missionaries, pastors …
Well, of course they do, but I do wonder with some of the things they say. Yes, I wonder how many of our pastors move their hearts in this direction, that God’s word is important enough to devote significant time to reading it. I had an associate once, a full-time minister of the gospel, who had never read the entire Bible.
I also wonder if some of the people who spend hours studying the Bible ever move out of their comfort zones and allow God to speak to them over the course of a year by making their way through this treasure he has given us.
You see, one thing that makes me wonder is what we consider – as individuals and churches – to be most important. There are clear statements in Scripture, and God’s main themes keep bubbling up throughout Scripture.
We don’t have to guess; he comes right out and tells us. Number one – he calls us to love him. Take all the power and drama of Genesis through Deuteronomy, and Jesus sums it up in one sentence. Love God with your heart, soul and might.
We can’t read God’s word for the right reasons and not want to please him with all our being.
That leads to my second question.
Why are we reading the Bible?
Take a breath. Think about it for a minute. And test that first thought that comes to your mind before you ask yourself the question. Or even better, ask the Spirit of God to help you ask and answer the question.
Are we reading so God won’t be mad at us? Do we make God like us more by plowing through those hundreds of pages? Are we afraid of God? Is reading merely our duty? Do we earn God’s blessing by reading?
His words are life. That is what God tells us.
- Deuteronomy 8:3 (NIV) He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your fathers had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD.
We don’t read to merely learn facts about God. We read to discover truth to live by. We are to live on the words, to learn how to love and serve him, to receive direction, to have intimate relationship with him, to receive food for life.
Reading is a discipline, but a discipline that allows us to breathe the eternal life he has given us. Just as disciplining ourselves to exercise or practice a musical instrument has greater value than just the fact that we can check off another hour of practice or four laps around the track.
Listen to the psalmist.
- Psalm 119:9 (NAS) How can a young man keep his way pure? By keeping it according to Your word.
- Psalm 119:9 (NKJV) How can a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed according to Your word.
- Psalm 119:9-10 (NIV) How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to your word. 10 I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands.
I like what the NKJV says here – cleanse his way. The psalmist speaks to a young man but the truth applies to all. How do we keep a pure way, how do we cleanse our way?
Living by the words of God, constructing lives that are built on sharp, active, powerful truths from God himself. My life is built on righteousness, kindness, love, forgiveness, holiness because God teaches me the concepts in his word and brings the concept to fulfillment in the concrete reality of my life as I live them.
- Hebrews 5:14 (NIV) But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.
Constant use, not constant study is the key.
We learn the abstract concepts so we can take the steps to build a house pleasing to God. But merely learning the concepts is building on sand. See Matthew 7 for details.
Look what else the psalmist tells us in verse ten. “I seek you with all my heart.” Our goal is intimacy with God, not interesting information about God that we can banter about at “Bible study.”
When we read, when we study … “I seek you with all my heart.”
How do we keep the direction of our life pure? How do we cleanse the path, the direction we take, our steps of faith? By living by the words. Living by the words purges our hearts from the temptation of lifeless religion. Living by the words clears our vision and directs our eyes to Christ when the dust of our busyness clouds our judgment.
Reading the Bible through over and over again has been my greatest teacher. Better than my formal training. Better than any classes or seminars.
Reading the Bible will change you.
But I have to warn you that it is dangerous to our “settled-in” lifestyle. Kills my pride. And challenges my faith. Scares me to death and fills me with wonder, at the same time.
And through it all he brings me back to a powerful refrain.
- Job 42:1–2 (NIV) Then Job replied to the LORD: “I know that you can do all things;no plan of yours can be thwarted.”
I am learning what Job expressed. God is the great King, the Sovereign Lord of the universe who calls me to bow and trust and love. He does what he wants and it is good. Good beyond what I can know and grasp, but not beyond my taste. On this path I taste true life. I taste what God is like. Very good indeed. And I know him.
And I do. I know God, and I love God. For all the other stuff that goes on in my life, I have this great assurance.
I truly do the thing God says is most important.
I love you, my Lord and King!
I am your servant David.
