Just Visiting

You walk slowly past the big, welcoming windows and peer in. This is the kind of small, yet well-stocked bookstore that you can never resist. Very cozy and warm. Volumes of every size, shape, color and topic line the walls. You barely hesitate as you step through the door. The deal is closed as you settle in to a big, comfy chair and savor some freshly brewed coffee.

After a bit you look around: there are great stories, tragedy and redemption, poetry, collections of famous letters and even a section on down-to-earth, practical advice. Knowledge and inspiration surround you. It’s almost as if you can soak it up just by sitting there.

As you sit and think about it, though, you realize that while you have this habit of frequenting bookshops, you haven’t actually read a book in quite a while.

It kind of makes you wonder: What am I doing here, really?

Is this how it is with our Bibles? Do we visit the Bible like a corner bookstore? Do we step in, look things over and then mostly hang around? Are we more in love with the idea of Bible reading than actually reading the Bible? Do we browse verses like books on a shelf? How often do we start one of the books of the Bible and read it through?

Here’s a proposal: find a Bible that is easy to read, one with a minimum of distractions and additives. Commit to start reading whole books straight through, just the way their authors wrote them. Better yet, commit to doing this with some others, so you can share both the experience and the results.

Reading the Bible. It’s better than just visiting.

Glenn