Reading the Word is one of the most pivotal aspects of the normal Christian life. Alongside daily prayer and Sunday church, reading your Bible is the most common Christian past time. But not all scripture reading is the same, and we shouldn’t read the Bible like it’s any other book. Although you find violence and war, it isn’t a book on war. Although there is some romance in the Bible, the Bible won’t be adapted into a rom-com anytime soon. It’s unlike any other book, and as such, our posture towards it ought to be different than it is towards any other book.
The Word was God
I think about John 1 a lot.
”In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God” (John 1:1-2).
The word should not be read as just any book, but as if it was God Himself. Because it is. I see His word, as God Himself being expressed within a written form. James Merritt says it like this,
“The primary purpose of reading the Bible is not to know the Bible, but to know God”.
Scripture is not just a book to know more about the religion and study different aspects of what Christians believe. But it’s a book that captures the nature and character of our Lord, and draws us closer to Him with every word.
As Hebrews 4:12 puts it, the word is alive and active. Have you ever stopped to think about why? I believe that it’s solely because the Lord is in it. But not enough of us catch that. We aren’t going to the Word to know Him more, but to know about Him and our “religion” more. If we aren’t reading the Bible for that reason, and to commune with Him, the Word won’t produce change in us, and we won’t receive the revelation that the Lord offers.
As Christians, we ought to read the Bible for Him, and Him alone. And for this, we need to posture our hearts before Him.
When the Word Came Alive
I used to read the Bible because I felt like I had to. It was something that every Christian did, and I felt guilty if I didn’t read my chapter everyday. I felt even guiltier if I dreaded it, and most of the time, I did. It didn’t do much for me, and it surely didn’t seem alive and active to me.
But when the Lord revealed to me that He wanted to have relationship with me, everything changed. Suddenly, the Word came alive. Verses would jump off the page, things would stick out to me, and I would actually remember what I read. It was also around this time, that I began listening to Christian audiobooks and sermons. The Word practically became my life, and it was like I had a new friend in the Lord.
Although I’ve mentioned this story before, it’s pivotal to my story, and my life with the Lord. It was really at this point in my life that I started to become a Christian. I started to live it out, and care about it at this moment in time. The Word coming alive changed my life, and it made me different.
But it wasn’t reading words on a page that made me different. They were the same words that I was reading before. The same books, the same chapters, and the same verses. In fact, it wasn’t even the words themselves that changed me. It was Him in the Word and Him in me that changed me.
When the Lord revealed Himself as a friend to me, knowing Him changed the Word for me. I began to view the Bible through a right lens, and my posture changed. It was no longer a book, but His living and active Word.
How to Practically Read Scripture
Recently, I started my first Bible in one year plan. So, at the moment, I’m reading anywhere from 2 to 5 chapters a day. There have been days where it’s felt like a chore, or something that I’ve had to check off of my to-do list. But overall, I’ve been getting revelation, and loving my time in the Word this year. Let me share with you why.
I’m not loving my scripture reading because it’s all super interesting, because the genealogies aren’t always interesting. But the number one reason why I enjoy it, is because I’m recognizing and remembering it as my time with the Lord. I’ve been able to commune with Him in it, and allow Him to show me things. Scriptures have also stayed on my mind throughout the day, meaning I’m not just communing with Him while reading those few chapters, but I’m able to commune with Him all day through His Word.
The main difference is that I’ve been seeing the Lord and the Bible through a different lens, and as such, coming to the Lord with a different heart posture. I’m seeing it as a chance to know Him more, and I’ve been able to commune with Him daily, and in an intimate way.
So, my practical plan for you is not so practical. I won’t tell you to read Romans, or Deuteronomy or some other book. Nor will I give you a day by day plan, or tell you to read one chapter a day. All scripture is inspired by God, and is profitable for instruction and such. And you can take one verse a day and mediate on it, with it being just as effective as a chapter a day. But I will give you one piece of advice.
Examine your heart and the lens through which you see. Is your heart posture right towards the Lord? Or are you going to Him only because you feel you need to? How are you seeing Him? And how do you view His word? These are questions you must ask yourself, and I would encourage you to pray through. I believe it is this, that will change your life, and your relationship with God entirely.
