Getting Personal

I got convicted about how I read the Bible a couple of years ago. I would often compare how I read it with how others read it (e.g.-if I could remember everything the first time I read it like this person, be able to quote references perfectly like that person, if I understood Revelation as easily as you-know-who, etc...). I have read plenty of books about how a person should read the Bible. Those are not bad things in and of themselves but it is that kind of comparative mentality that really makes such a welcoming event as Bible study become quite intimidating because I can never be anybody but myself. Therefore, I can never read exactly as others do. Comparison can really rob a person of the ease of joy. So I prayed about it. You know what happened?? God opened my eyes to something obvious yet quite profound! It has totally enhanced how I approach studying scripture.

He simply reminded me that my own perspective and questions hold value when I am seeking His truth. So I considered questions like, “How did God create me? What is specific to how I view what I read in scripture? What kind of questions do I seem to keep asking? What do I get excited or emotional about in God’s Word?”

I try to relate to the Bible characters and really empathize with them to "feel" the story even more. What was this person like? How do social, economical, vocational or spiritual situations affect this real, historic human? What did they experience that was so grand to have been counted as worthy of becoming part of the Holy Scriptures? What would my response be had I walked alongside of them in that day? What is it about their God-created being that makes their perspective able to reach all who encounter the Bible? Then, I must remember that through the life and power of God's living Word; I am actually able to do just that too! How incredible! We MUST remember how alive that sacred Book is and we MUST remember to grant it the power it is due as God's own heart made tangible for us. If we approach it recognizing such power, we'd open it as often as possible EXPECTING it to change our life every single time. It can and it will.

If Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John were all just alike, we would not have such a diverse and eloquent depictions of their unique experiences with Christ. They may have physically been part of the same functions and intimate community with Jesus but we capture a much more complete picture of who He is through their different lenses. Matthew was a tax collector who changed his ways. Mark was a storyteller to give an eyewitness account of what he had seen in Jesus. Luke was a physician. John, “the disciple Jesus loved” wrote passionately of the divinity of Christ as a best friend. God uses the variety of His creation to highlight key elements of His own person and to provide enough testimony to confirm its truth and He hasn’t stopped yet.

Let me be clear, this is a message about who I am and what I am learning. I want to invite you to be YOU. We need each other to sharpen our understanding of all that God wants us to know of Himself. If you have a more intellectual, detailed angle from which you approach scripture, that is great! If you are more philosophical, historical, scientific or apologetic in your scriptural endeavors then dive all into that path. I learn so much from your understanding! We can all learn from each other and grow together and I believe that that is something that truly makes God happy.

Who are you? What are you like? What special components to your own personality open the Word of God to you in a special and unique way that let you see just how intimate of a relationship the Lord has specifically with YOU?? What kinds of things do you “catch” in scripture that you get excited to tell people about? You have permission to daydream about God! You are allowed to ask seemingly weird questions that nobody else has asked! Go for it! I hope this encourages you towards great spiritual discovery and gives you a new or renewed love of the Bible!