How do we read the Bible well?
It was another quiet afternoon like all the others we are having right now when Josh rushed into my lounge. “Quick, quick!” he said. “We need to build a tabernacle! Now!”
As we unpacked his excited statement, it turned out that Josh wanted nothing more than to be obedient to the God he was just getting to know. So he had been reading his Bible. He’d started at the beginning and he had just arrived in Exodus and he’d discovered God had commanded his people to build a tabernacle. “Why don’t you have one?” he asked me.
The conversation turned into a discussion about the Bible and the place of Jesus at its center. I sent him off to read some of the letter to the Hebrews.
But he left me thinking. What is important to know as we open the Bible? How do we read it well? Especially over this time when life is very different for us.
There are four words that are helpful to remember when we read our Bible and they are words that begin to help us answer these questions.
RELATE
First of all and most importantly, reading the Bible is about developing a relationship with God. We read the Bible to meet God. This means we need to pray and invite the Holy Spirit to help us as we read.
READ
Next, actually open the Bible and read it — and not just the parts that we like and are familiar with. Rather than look at verses on their own, look at them in the context of the surrounding text. Over time we need to read all of the Bible. This helps us understand God’s Big Story — a story that started at the beginning of time and stretches into infinity. A story that has love for us at its heart. Reading systematically also helps us understand how all the different parts fit together.
REFLECT
Then allow time to listen to God as we reflect on what we have read. Here in SUNZ we talk about ‘engaging’ with the Bible. We use this word as it is richer and fuller than merely ‘reading’ the text. When we engage with the Bible the Holy Spirit is at work and we are entering a deep and life-changing process. It can be good to get a little bit of help to engage well, and that’s where Bible guides like the excellent ones we have in Scripture Union NZ come in. A good quality guide can help you understand the many different sorts of texts contained in the Bible — prose and poetry, history and revelation, parables and proverbs — as well as reflect on the context and depth of what you are reading.
RESPOND
Lastly, respond to what we have read. Look for our part in God’s ongoing story. Explore what God has said to us, and pray and decide what it means as we live it out in the here and now.
Relate
Read
Reflect
Respond
These are words worth thinking about.