How are we to read the Bible?
The answer to this question fills volumes and takes a lifetime to answer. After all, the Bible is a vast collection of ancient texts written across centuries and in different cultures. So reading it well usually isn’t simple.
But, in my experience, there are 2 fundamental postures we can take when reading the Bible—Acquisition or Encounter.
The Posture of Acquisition
In Acquisition, the bible is like an ancient site to be uncovered so we can gain as much knowledge as possible.
Reading the Bible is about having more information. And, unfortunately, this knowledge is often used as ammunition to support our arguments. Bible reading is about getting fuel for our fights.
There is another aspect to this.
We can come to the Bible to acquire knowledge because we believe is what’s most pleasing to God. The more we study and the more we know, the happier God will be with us. More knowledge means more favor, more diamonds in our heavenly crown.
For a long time, this was my posture.
I gained knowledge to gain favor.
But now I’ve learned a better way.
The Posture of Encounter
The truth is this.
The Bible is less like a textbook and more like the bread and wine of the Lord’s Supper. Or the waters of baptism—it’s sacramental. It’s a means of God working through physical objects to usher in his presence in our life. It’s a way that he reveals himself and meets us with his healing grace.
The information that we uncover in the Bible brings us into an encounter with the Bible’s God—the I AM who is eternally Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The God who has redeemed his broken world and saved a people for himself through his Son. The God who is fully revealed through the person and work of Jesus, who we learn about in the Bible.
This involves acquiring knowledge—certainly!
But it’s not knowledge to win arguments or gain favor.
It’s knowledge for the purpose of encountering a real person.
Read to Encounter
The next time you study the Bible or read it in any way, keep this in mind.
Ask the Holy Spirit to bring you to an encounter with Jesus. Ask that anything you do learn—and by all means, learn—is a vehicle to grow your love for God and to usher you into an encounter with him.
Eventually, you’ll find what you seek.