A textbook. That’s all it’s become. You know something is wrong when you look at the Bible as just another textbook. It has become required reading for class. That means that we are forced [theoretically] to sit down and peruse the Scriptures with the same amount of gusto that we would approach Stanley Grenz or Marva Dawn. And, as we all know, that gusto on most days isn’t the greatest. Well, to say the least, it’s abysmal. To be honest, I’ve gone weeks without touching my Bible. It’s just remained in my backpack or gathering dust on my shelves while I churn out paper after paper and read book after book in order to get my schooling done.

So, I doubt the children of Israel reduced the Torah to a measly piece of reading that they only pulled out once every six months because they had a test coming up the next day. I’m pretty sure that they were told to write the Scriptures on their hearts and know everything about it, even the parts that aren’t so pretty. When was the last time you sat down and learned about how to deal with the “icky” parts of life as told by the Levitical Law? I can’t remember the last time I read that part when I was outside of a classroom setting. While we’re being honest here, it’s hard for me to remember when I last read through an entire Gospel… maybe two or three years. Pathetic, isn’t it?

So I make this a challenge. To all those who read, but mostly to myself. I challenge you to blow the dust off your Bible – the Word of God; wholly inspired Scripture – and read it. Not because you have to, not because you’re feeling guilted into reading it, but because you want to. It definitely hasn’t made it through thousands of years because it has nothing good in it. There are words of life within it. Words of hope. Words of joy, peace, humility, strength… but most of all, by reading it, we can find out more about Jesus… If we focus our eyes on Jesus, will we need to worry about anything else?

* Originally posted February 15, 2006 at http://voiceofebc.blogspot.com