Reading the Bible can sometimes be difficult.
Many times I have had to psych myself up to just open this book, let alone draw something out of it. Even after finding wisdom and hope that has literally changed my life, I sometimes approach the Bible with apprehension. But is called God’s Word – active and living.
The thing about this book is that there are layers of meaning that can not only apply to your personal situations but also transform them.
I find that my biggest struggle with reading the Bible is that I have read it before. I know all the Bible stories and parables. Sometimes I have come across little nuggets of unfound awesomeness, but they are becoming more and more rare. This problem, however, has forced me to dig deeper and get rid of my familiarity. In the process, I have found a few ways to keep things fresh and relevant.
- Find Jesus in the story
Knowing the story of Jesus is the most important thing about the Bible. Everything in it supports and results from that story of grace. If you are reading for the first time, I would encourage you to start there.
Once you have understood his story of sacrifice, love and grace, you can apply it to every story in the Bible. Sometimes you have to think out of the box and be a little creative, but you will always find elements of love, undeserved favour, hope, grace, obedience, and sacrifice in every story you find in the Bible. In many ways, you are learning about who Jesus is and what he has done for you yourself over and over again throughout every book.
- Read it like a script for a play
When you read the Bible, it is very easy to appreciate it as a story worth telling. Until you find the weirdest anecdotes and question the sanity of the writer. One way that I have found very helpful, however, is understanding the story by seeing myself as one of the characters. Doing character studies immediately forces you to identify with the person you are reading about.
It takes some research, but is a whole lot of fun. To truly understand how extraordinary God is in the stories of the Bible, you need to understand the cultural and political climate that they take place in. Understanding the tumultuous political climate Israel was in when Jesus lived really helps us understand how powerful his words and actions were. I have learnt a lot about dealing with conflict and unrest through how Jesus addressed the people of his time.
You would need to know about the Jewish culture and then also the immediate background of the character in question. For example, knowing that in Hebrew culture, men would never run, means that when the father of the prodigal son runs towards him, it is not only an expression of excitement but a defiance of culture and utmost abandon to express his love for his child. As an image of God, it shows that he is willing to break the “rules” to love us – even to the point of being undignified – which Jesus ultimately portrayed on the cross.
- Read it with a fine tooth comb
In the Bible you will find a whole lot of strange things. Sometimes the translation from Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic into English has meant that a whole lot of meaning is hiding beneath the surface. When I am not getting anything out of what I am reading in the Bible, I pick up a concordance to dig a little deeper. There is no shame in not understanding or struggling to apply what you read in the Bible. That is the very fuel that will get you to ask more questions.
For example, in Matthew 6 Jesus speaks about being generous and then randomly adds that if the eye is healthy your body will be full of light. Now a whole lot of red flags went up when I read that. It didn’t make sense at all. Until I found out that the Greek for the word healthy also means generous. All of a sudden, I saw how when we are generous, we see the need of others and are also healthy in our souls.
I have also found that Hebrew names all have a meaning. So when you are going through the genealogies in the early books of the Bible, you can trace so much meaning into the fabric of Israel.
I can’t explain to you how powerful this has been in my life. Searching to understand the Bible instead of just knowing it has changed the way I see everything. Not only has it given me hope and directed my life; it has also drawn me closer to God – a God that is as real now as he was when people were writing the books of the Bible. If you want to truly know this God – who speaks through the Bible and reveals his goodness to you – then please click on the link below.