When you read the Bible you open yourself up to encountering God through the stories of our spiritual mothers and fathers, offering a glimpse into their experience of God’s story. You’re not simply learning facts or trivia or reading just another great piece of literature. An effective way to get to know God is to read what God has said about Godself.
Be careful as you read the Bible, many people have made the mistake of thinking they are reading a bunch of rules describing how a person is supposed to live, that is a secondary goal at best.
I like to imagine the Bible as God’s story. As a grand narrative of the Creator God in an all out pursuit a “Bride” (a Biblical metaphor those seeking relationship with God). The Bible is a love story. God wooing people back to Godself.
Where should I start reading?
There is no “wrong place” to begin reading – its all good. However, if you’ve never read the Bible before I’d suggest you open your bible to the “Table of Contents.” You’ll notice there two main sections; most often referred to as the Old Testament, and the New Testament.
All the books in the Old Testament where written before Jesus Christ, and talk about creation and how God begins to build people for relationship. The books of the New Testament were all written after Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection, and chronicles the continuing saga of God pursuit of a people who would choose to relationship, and has a very personal feel often leaving one with a clear sense of God’s love.
If you’ve never read the Bible before, I’d encourage you to turn in your Bible to the New Testament, reading the book of Mark, followed by the short letter of First John.
After reading Mark and First John, try to get a feel for God’s activity throughout Biblical history. I suggest the following order as a good overview to understanding his story.
- Genesis
- Exodus
- Deuteronomy
- John
- Acts
- Romans
What do I do when I read?
If at all possible read with other people. There is something meaningful about interacting with the Bible within the context of a community.
As you read ask the following questions:
- What does this suggest about God?
- What can this teach about life & love?
- What does this appear to be saying and what might it mean?
- What might it have meant back then?
- What is one thought I can carry with me today?
- So what?
How much should I read?
No right answer here. Read what is comfortable for you. Often when a person first reads the Bible they find it helpful to do a quick “overview” and cover lots of ground. Jotting questions as one reads or highlighting paragraphs to reread can be beneficial.
For those who want to read more slowly its often helpful to read until there seems to be a natural stopping point. Then ask yourself those questions again.
I highly recommend that you keep a journal of your thoughts and questions.
peace, dwight
