Walking through the Bible like a tourist...

 

“The tourist who moves about to see and hear and open himself to all the influences of the places which condense centuries of human greatness is only a man in search of excellence.”  Max Lerner

  Being a tourist has never held a lot of appeal to me. While I like to travel, and I want to see the major sites, historical places and attractions – that’s just not enough. It’s just not satisfying for me. For that, I feel like I could almost watch a TV travelogue or even look at someone else’s snapshots.

  What I really enjoy doing when I visit a new area is to really get to know the area, to find out the unusual stuff, that only the locals know about. And what I really enjoy doing is getting to know the people and the culture.

  This past summer Jane and I stayed at a place called Muddy Pond in Tennessee. We wanted to really get to know the area, so we scouted out the attractions and scenic sites that only locals would typically know. We tend to skip the chain restaurants and look for places that the locals know about and recommend.

  Have you ever thought about this? The Bible is a lot like that. Most Christians know the “big attractions” like Psalm 23, John 3:16 or Romans 8:28, but they fail to take the time to really get to know the neighborhood, and the neighbors are fantastic. You almost feel sorry for certain passages of Scripture. Aren’t the neighbors of Psalm 23 – Psalm 22 and 24 important? You better believe it. How about John 3:17 or Romans 8:29? Great verses, yet the popularity of their next door neighbors has resulted in them being virtually ignored. That’s because too many of us walk through the Bible like a tourist. We fail to invest the time to really get to know the neighborhood. When you do that, you miss so much.

  Whenever we have the time when we are in the Chicago area, we stop at a restaurant that’s famous for its gyros and baklava. In a million years we’d never have found Hubs but Jane’s Uncle and Aunt who lived in Evanston at the time, took us there. It made such an impression on us that we go there at least once a year and have introduced several friends to Hubs. But it’s only because we were with someone who actually knew the neighborhood. And I can’t tell you how many times over the years we’ve made great discoveries because we took some time to explore the neighborhood. The Bible is like that, too.

  God wants us to know that ALL of His Word. Every verse is important. There’s no fluff or filler in God’s Word. That’s what the Bible tells us about itself, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17). Periodically, I’ll read a book and feel that the author crammed a 100 page book into 200 pages. There’s just a lot of fluff, but that’s not the case with the Bible.

  To be sure, there are verses, sections and books of the Bible that more easily hold our attention than others. Some passages are certainly easier to understand and digest than others. That, though, doesn’t infer that some parts are more important or better than others. God doesn’t have any filler in His Word. Every verse is vital and essential but you’re not going to know that…unless you read it.

  We’re beginning a new year. Please determine to faithfully read God’s Word in 2014. Maybe you want to read the whole Bible through. Perhaps you want to take your time and work through a book at a time. The important thing is to determine to be in God’s Word consistently.

  And even more important than being in God’s Word is to have God’s Word in you. Although the Bible reveals God’s truth to us; it’s primary purpose is not merely to educate us. God did not give us His Word to fill our minds with information. The purpose of God’s Word and the reason that we need to read it and study it is for transformation. Hebrews 4:12 says, “For the Word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”

  Even though our Bibles are printed with ink on pages, the author of Hebrews says that somehow God’s Word is living and active. There’s a dynamic energy at work whenever a person reads the Bible. Somehow the living God is actively working in and through the words of Scripture to impact the reader’s life. This makes the Bible unique from any other book.

  The Bible is described as a sharp double edged sword, which focuses on its ability to penetrate into our lives. The Bible has no blunt edge, every part of it is sharp enough to pierce into our lives with its message. Soul and spirit, joints and marrow, focuses on the Bible ability to penetrate our defenses into the very core of our personality, where our true self is. There, at the core of our personality, the Bible evaluates and discerns our inner thoughts and motives, sifting through our intentions and ideas. God works in our lives through His Word, that’s why the Bible is essential for our spiritual growth and transformation.

  Christianity isn’t some set of ideas. Being a Christian is not about spouting off doctrines or reciting creeds. Being a Christian is foremost about a personal love relationship with God through faith in Jesus Christ. This love relationship is a life transforming one. You can’t have an encounter with Jesus Christ without being radically changed. Being a Christian isn’t merely accepting certain facts about God or about the Bible. It’s about becoming a follower of Jesus Christ, a devoted disciple in eery part of our lives, as we seek to live lives of passionate devotion to Christ. The Bible is God’s love letter to us and it’s God’s primary means of transforming us. But the Bible will never revolutionize your life as God intended it to do…unless  you faithfully read it and apply it to your life.