Before I started reading…
Before starting the Bible, I was operating under the misconception that the Bible is a straight-forward guide, written by God, that gives us step-by-step instructions on how to live life. I thought that once I finished reading the Bible once, I would be ready to use what I learned as a defense against anyone that goes against it. Honestly, I thought after one read through, I would be able to use certain verses for “gotcha” moments in debates to prove my point. I was wrong.
After reading…
The Bible is not a debate point. It is a mosaic of stories by regular people that witnessed and spoke to someone much greater than them. Now that I have “finished” the Bible, I’ve learned that I have so much more to learn and unlearn to become closer to Our Heavenly Father.
I’ve learned that society will use certain verses in the Bible to their benefit and completely ignore surrounding verses that will directly condemn their actions and thoughts, because it does not serve them. I’ve learned that the greatest defense a person can have, is the knowledge of the word of God. And it should not be used as a defense AGAINST people, but as defense FOR God. To spread knowledge, cultivate wisdom, and gain understanding.
I learned that the Bible is not as direct as people make it out to be. Jesus spoke in parables for a reason. He did not simply give us the answers to everything we wanted to know because it would be a disservice to humanity, we would lose the gift of critical thinking and discernment. We would have the knowledge without the wisdom or understanding.
The Bible was not written directly by God. It was written by everyday people, like you and me, that were hand selected by the Father to deliver a message to the masses. God used people that were imperfect, people that had speech impediments, people that cheated, people that killed, people that hurt others. God used imperfection to show us that even though we’re not perfect, He is, and He loves us, and He can change us into the best version of ourselves… if we let Him.
I truly believe that every Believer should read the Bible cover to cover at least once. A lot of things in the Bible relates back to other books or verses, and you wouldn’t necessarily have the correct understanding of passage without the knowledge of a prior passage. In my opinion, reading the Bible at least once sets the foundation for future studies.
For anyone that is starting the Bible, here’s a few things I think might help:
The Bible is LONG, and you are not going to be able to read it all in a few days or weeks (it took me almost 10 MONTHS). There is information and stories in the Bible that take place over thousands of years. Reading the Bible shows commitment to God and willingness to build a relationship with Him through His word. Be patient, stay diligent, and ask God for the time to read His word.
Connecting with God’s word daily is something that brings me a lot of peace. This can be as simple as reading one chapter or a subchapter. If you don’t have the time to read there are Bible apps that will read it so you can listen while you’re cleaning, driving, or whatever. God is SO eager to spend time with you, no matter how short. Make the time for Him.
No longer are the days where everyone MUST read King James Version, whether you understand it or not. There are a multitude of different translations of the Bible because everyone digests information differently. I primarily read the English Standard Version and will switch between translations if I don’t understand something and need to hear the same thing in a different way. Find what works for YOU! There are Bible apps that that have multiple translations that you can download for free.
If you were raised like me, then you know that asking questions was deemed disrespectful (“HOW DARE YOU QUESTION THE LORD’S WORD??”). The way I see it, God knows our hearts regardless of if we outwardly verbalize it or not. He knows that it is in our nature to question things. Do not askquestion out of disbelief, but out of curiosity, for the purpose of understanding Him better and creating a deeper relationship with Him. Blindly accepting things as they are just because “the Bible says so” is not how to go about building faith. You need to understand the values and ideals that you put your faith into.
5. Don’t skip the Old Testament.
In order to understand certain things in the New Testament, you have to have an understanding of the Old Testament. It falls into the same reason that we learn about history in school. We must possess knowledge and understand the past in order to have wisdom for the future. Reading the Old Testament will also let you know why I focus on knowledge, understanding, and wisdom so much. Set your spiritual foundation on solid ground!
For the first few months that I was reading the Bible I would phrase the future like “Once I finish the Bible…”, what I didn’t realize is there is no “finishing” the Bible. It’s not like a regular book where you read it, finish it, and move on to the next thing. The Bible is so full of information that it’s almost impossible to fully register everything from just one read and understanding the Bible paves the way to building a deeper relationship with God. If your goal for reading the Bible is to get closer to God, you will be reading and studying the Bible for the rest of your life. You have just started a never-ending story… cherish it.