This is a simple question but one of the most important in your Christian life. Why do I read the Bible?

Stop and think about it. What are you picking up the Bible to read it?

Let me tell you my motivation. It is usually for one of two reasons.

The first is I was taught that a good Christian reads their Bible. So in affect I read my Bible out of guilt and a desire to be a good Christian.

The second is because I want to know what I am supposed to do.

I am finding out that both of these reasons do not produce the abundant life Jesus talks about in John 10:10. They are both external reasons – being good and what to do – which may cause me to be look good on the outside but will not produce abundant life on the inside. I am learning abundant life cannot come from what I do but from a person, a person whose name is Jesus.

If your motivations are like mine stop reading the Bible because you think you ought too. For the first 300 years Christianity didn’t have the Bible in the form we have now. Just stop. It will help get you free from working your way to God.

Don’t read the Bible to figure out what to do. I understand there are times we need to know what to do. I acknowledge that. The Bible is good in this area and there is a place for this. But this is not the primary reason we should read the Bible.

We read the Bible to be introduced to the person of Jesus. We read to find out who He is, what He is up to, how He thinks, and what are His next moves. It may sound like a small difference but taking this attitude in reading has revolutionized my Bible reading.

I try to view my Bible reading now as an adventure to learn more about Him and not about me. I read it like I would read a novel, to understand the characters and the plot of the story. When I take the emphasis off of me and onto Him it makes it fun to read!

When I do this I do see things for me that I need to apply to my life. But those things are now in the context of my walk with Jesus and not things I have to do in order to walk with Jesus.

What are your thoughts?

Christianity – Simpler Than You Think