“I don’t like to read!” Have you
ever heard anyone say this? Maybe even you have articulated this yourself. I
have heard this from some very talented people who have learned to be very
skillful in their craft because of a driving desire, but they just don’t like
to read, or should I say, they don’t like to read things that are not in their
priority path. I truly believe that a man or woman will do their priorities
come what may. I hear this pitiful excuse of not reading the Bible more than I
care to hear from believers no less! It just comes across as an excuse. What is
so ironic about this disdain for reading is that some of these people know some
very sophisticated stuff, but they claim they don’t like to read or have the
time.
Did a miner during the gold rush
get gold from a mine by looking at the entrance of the mine and say, “Yeseree,
thars gold in thar” but never swung his pick ax? He had to go inside and work
the mine to find the gold and break it free. Many treat the Bible pretty much
the same way by doing nothing more than a casual stroll in the mine of God’s
Word, “Yep, there’s gold in here.” Since this gold doesn’t leap off the page and into their laps,
they close the Book in frustration and blame it all on a lack of understanding.
They want whatever gold is in there alright, but they are unwilling to swing
the pick ax. Looking at a vein of gold and leaving it embedded does not make
our lives rich in Christlikeness.
I think we often forget that the
Bible is God’s Self-revelation to man! Planet earth, in the Milky Way galaxy, is
the only inhabitable planet in a universe plum full of galaxies containing
hundreds of millions upon millions of stars! We refer to this vast astronomical
host as the general revelation of God. This universe is not silent concerning
its Creator (Psa 19:1-3). The Psalmist reminds us of His greatness and our
smallness in relation to the greater scheme of things (Psa 8:1-2, 3). All of
creation awaits the coming of the LORD (Psa 96:11-12, 13; Rom 8:19-20, 21-22). The Apostle
Paul argues that since the creation of the world, two invisible attributes of
the Creator are continuously being seen by the things that are made: His
omnipotent power and His wisdom (Rom 1:20).
Then came the special or specific
revelation of God’s disclosure of Himself through His Son spanning some 1500
years, 40 authors, and three continents beginning with the book of Job (believed
to be the oldest book but the date of composition is unknown, possibly post
Babel or prior to Abraham or a contemporary), and the last book of the canon
was John’s Revelation written ~94-96 A.D. The Holy Spirit makes it very clear
this special revelation is sourced in God and not man (2 Tim 3:16; 2 Pet
1:20-21; the world ain’t buying it; go figure)!
Though we see God’s creative
power and wisdom in the world around us, we learn of the Creator’s love for us
through inscripturated revelation (written down, Jn 3:16). Yahweh took the
initiative to reveal Himself to man and to show man’s need for redemption
through His Son, but this love is not without standards. It demands a decision
from each and every one of us to accept or reject His offer of salvation and to
live our lives in obedience to His words found within that written revelation.
So, how can we know God apart
from the Bible? The physical creation doesn’t say anything about His love for
us or the need for salvation.
Apart from the Word of God, we can’t know Him who
is more than powerful and wise. And how do we properly evaluate anything, be it a
doctrine or practice or lifestyle, to be Bible-based apart from knowledge of
the Scripture? We can’t. How do we know what is right or wrong and pleasing or
unpleasing to God apart from the Word of God? We can’t.
Ignorance of the Word tells the
tale of the tape that for many Christians reading God’s Book seems to be an
unpopular thing today. The banal excuse of “I know I don’t read the Bible like
I should” is really a public confession that something is spiritually wrong in
the life of that person while the body language expresses more of a heart of little conviction or concern than a deep feeling of embarrassment and remorse. Months down the
road we hear the same old same old, “I know I don’t read the Bible like I
should” or “I don’t like to read.”
You kind of get the impression
that people like this are already content with what they know, and they feel no
further need for any more truth about God! With what they heard in church and
experienced along the way, they are good to go. It is heartbreaking to hear
good, likable people say these kinds of things. They might as well say, “I
don’t like reading about God” because that is exactly what they are
acknowledging without even realizing it! I am more inclined to believe that
people who struggle reading the Bible and find it more laborious than a
passion to know God are psyched out because the Bible is either too long, or
they are too lazy, or they just don’t understand it. Adults today suffer from
some kind of A.D.D. and lack of commitment to anything or anyone.
Do non-reading believers really
think they are growing in the grace and knowledge of our Lord when everything
they hear will dissipate in less than three weeks unless they take notes!
Intermittent moments of “wow” via the pulpit or podium will be spiritually
deficient in the moments of “pow!” The confidence needed in crisis comes from the objective
truth of God’s Word hidden in the heart, not from something vaguely recalled long
ago from a preacher or teacher.
It would be so refreshing and
encouraging to hear someone say once in a while, “I don’t like to read and
struggle with understanding at times, but that doesn’t stop me from reading and
studying God’s Word!” Or, “the Bible is the only book I love to read!” Now,
I’ll take that attitude any day! You can teach these kinds of folks something
about the Word of God. It is called having a teachable spirit. Reading the Bible isn’t about
reading for reading's sake, for that is nothing more than an intellectual religious
exercise. God desires for us to be full of the truth and release that truth in
our lives for His glory.
Reading is the desire to know God in order to relate
and react to Him, to think like Him, to view the world like Him, to be like Him,
to be pleasing to Him in our talk and walk through obedience to His Word (cf.
Jos 1:7-8). Apart from the Scriptures, we cannot be Christlike for it demands
knowing the Word. Admittedly, it is not an overnight thing, growing spiritually
is a never-ending process, a life-long pursuit in the love of Truth.
Pulpit or podium dispersion of
the truth is not enough for proper spiritual growth. There must be personal involvement and commitment on a daily basis for growth in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. How much can you recall of a sermon heard three
weeks ago? Fading memory is why repetition is the key to learning. Playing an
integral role in our maturing in the faith are reading, studying, reflecting,
memorizing, and exercising the Word in our lives in the daily routines of life.
Christlikeness is not the
measure of what the other guy is doing, but how we measure up to Christ as
presented in the Word. He is the gold standard; all other standards, no matter
how wise and spiritual, are infinitely inferior to the revelation of God. It is
impossible to execute 2 Pet 3:18 apart from the Word. Ironically, there is more
biblical data available today than at any time in human history, and yet, biblical
illiteracy is contributing to the swelling tide of apostasy!
To be wise as serpents and
harmless as doves, we must have knowledge of God’s Word. We can be
knowledgeable and unwise (sinning in knowledge), but we cannot be wise without
knowledge. I can spend 10 minutes with a person and tell you where the treasure
of their heart is (Lk 12:34), and you can, too, for out of the abundance of the heart the
mouth speaks (Mt 12:34), right? You want to know what is in a person’s heart tank; listen
to them talk. What are our words telling others about us? <><
