Don't Treat the Bible Like Instagram

The pace of abiding

Christians come to the Bible differently than any other body of writing.

For us, it is not merely words on a page but a vessel for encountering God. To borrow some fancy theological jargon we can say this— in Scripture, God uniquely communicates his presence to us.

We can even put it this way.

The Bible sweeps us into the throne room.

Read at the pace of relationship

How then, should we read?

This means we should treat Bible reading more like time spent with someone we love and less like our Instagram feed.

We don’t rush through coffee dates, long walks, or dinners with loved ones. We take our time. We ask questions of another.

We open up.

We listen.

We wait.

Jesus wants time with you

Social media engineers a different posture.

It’s less about quality communication and more about quantity communication. Getting the point across quickly so you can move on to the next post is the status quo. Rapid quantity is the name of the game.

As a result, humans are garnering record low attention spans and we’re rapidly refreshing our feeds to see what’s new.

While this pace may suffice for most of life, it is nothing but a hindrance when reading Scripture.

Jesus didn’t die for us to spend 8 seconds with him.

He wants quality time.

To sit with you.

To be with you.

To live in relationship with you.

Try this

Hear’s a challenge.

Find a time this week to get alone with Jesus through his word. Read through a few psalms then the first few chapters of a Gospel. Take your time, asking Jesus to come.

When a verse or phrase sticks out, stop.

Meditate on it. Sit with it. And open yourself up to how Jesus might be beckoning you deeper into relationship with him through it.

Be amazed at what happens.