When I was in college, my home church published these
pamphlets. They were filled with daily
Scriptures. If I were to follow that
plan, I could get through the Bible in a year.
I remember grabbing them. I’d
give them to friends but I’d keep a lot of them. Why? I
thought I might lose them. I also thought
that if I was so sure that God existed from the little Scripture I’d read up to
that point, imagine if I’d read the whole thing! I was sure I’d know God so well.
Like many I’m sure, my first few attempts at this were
abortive. The Tabernacle, all the names
in Numbers, the rules about birds and clothing and fields in Leviticus – my
excitement absolutely plummeted.
What was so disappointing was not the books themselves. After all, God speaks in those books. The people and customs are strange indeed,
but the God who speaks commands our attention.
What disappointed me was that I wanted to be an expert. I wanted answers and wisdom and I wanted them
to be easy. But as I read, I knew they
wouldn’t be. The answers given in
Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers all sounded like “Because I am God! Because I said so!”
This was not relevant
enough to my life. It was direct, which
is why I wasn’t bored. But I didn’t like
it. Now I knew Jesus was the fulfillment
of the law. We don’t have to do
everything we see in Leviticus. But I
started to realize that God might want me to be more than a good reader who had
answers to tough questions. He might
want me to be an obedient follower.
I think I became more interested in God and his people than
I was in finding answers. “Who is this
God?” “Who are these people who he has
called to be his own?” But it took
moving beyond my initial expectations and desires from the Bible. Like Kevin said in his sermon, many of us
expect either 1) information, or 2) comfort.
But the Bible will disappoint us if this is all we look for. What should we look for?
There is a verse tucked into Psalm 95 that reads, “O that
today you would listen to his voice!”
Chris Webb writes: “Here is the work of today – which is also the work
of the whole of life. I’m called daily
to open my heart afresh to the living Word of God. I know I need this reminder but, to tell the
truth, I’m daunted by the possibility that God might actually speak…what will I
hear? How will I be called, how
changed? Will I be comforted or
inspired? Or is it today that my life
will be turned inside out? It has
happened before – to others and to me.”
This is what we look for – a word from the God of the
Bible. As we read the Bible, we learn
about his character and learn to recognize his voice. We learn that it is ok to be afraid to do
what he says, but that we should trust him to know what is best for us.
Your daily Bible reading will bore you sometimes. I guarantee it. But the morning might come that we say, “OK,
God” to something Scripture asks of us.
It might be inconvenient and uncomfortable. And looking back, we might wish the day’s
Bible reading had been boring because then nothing would have happened. But it might feel like “I was made for this.” “Wow, I wonder what God will say to me
tomorrow, and the next day…and for all eternity.”
As we follow Jesus Christ, may we feel plenty of both! And then, even boredom can prompt us to
consult God! Just ask (Old St.)
Augustine: “You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you.”
Reflection Questions:
1)
Rev. Pound said that if we read the Bible only for information or for comfort that
we will be disappointed. The Bible is
meant to give us those, but much more.
What do you normally expect to get out of your Bible reading?
2)
In the sermon, an author was quoted who wrote of
the Bible, “I think I’m going to read it, and it starts reading me, I’m going
to judge it and it starts judging me, I’m going to weigh its words, and it
starts weighing my life.” When, if ever,
have you felt this way about reading the Bible?
3)
Is there a Bible passage that has inspired you
to say “Yes” to God recently?
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