Why Reading Scripture Is Like Being Hitched...

?No matter what you have heard about “spiritual formation” or “discipleship” (which , as a side note, are pieces of my job at Parkview), the one thing that needs to be part of every conversation about growing in Christ is the Bible (or Scripture, which is my personal way of talking about it). The next question is – what do I do with this funky, violent, confusing book? How do I read this myself?Reading the Bible is often like getting married. Seriously. Let me put this into context:

We meet – there is an awkward part of the story where we aren’t sure what each other is saying but we start to understand that there is something important about it. We try to figure things out, ask questions, and listen closely.

We date- we cut out time and intentionally focus on the person and their words and desires, listening and growing in our understanding of who they are simply by putting a fence up around the time we have together.

We get engaged- We make a commitment to what we’re hearing and to believe the promises and overtures of another person and plan to spend the rest of our lives together. There is still indecision and struggle, but ultimately we believe that this is a commitment that will last.

We get hitched- Okay, so that’s crass and I respect marriage very highly but the truth is that marriage is the practical application of the commitment and beliefs of engagements, working out over time and through various mazes of difficulty and joy over years and years.

I’d say that this is a pretty accurate picture of our relationship with Scripture – perhaps it doesn’t take years as a good marriage does – maybe we run through these stages every day but ultimately we are deepening our relationship with the words of Scripture and consequently the wild and passionate God who lies behind each chapter of the story and wants to be the main character of our stories as well.

So, how’s your relationship with the Bible?