It’s begun. I’m so glad you’ve decided to come along on the journey.
Reading the bible is indeed the great adventure of life. It is not mere reading of words on a page. It is not a religious exercise. It is not searching out facts and figures for dissection and analysis. It is not a book that can be handled. It is neither merely informational nor is it cold and impersonal. Rather, the bible is an intimate revelation of the God who actually is. You will surely be amazed as page by page you are drawn into God’s reality. You’ll often be surprised; sometimes offended; and certainly humbled as you encounter God on his terms. Holy and loving. Majestic and kind. Powerful and near.
But whatever you do, don’t just read this book. Don’t just blow through the daily readings to get them done so you can check off the box. Make time. Make space. And listen; really listen. Give time and attention. Some days you will need to stop on a verse and ponder it’s meaning. You may not “finish” that day. But you may just encounter the invisible God who is behind and involved in everything visible and who will teach you how to really live. As Eugene Petersen writes in his introduction to The Message, “We are used to picking up and reading books for what we can get out of them: information we can use, inspiration to energize us, instructions on how to do something or other, entertainment to while away a rainy day, wisdom that will guide us into living better. These things can and do take place when reading the bible, but the bible is given to us in the first place simply to invite us to make ourselves at home in the world of God, God’s word and world, and become familiar with the way God speaks and the ways in which we answer him with our lives.”
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