The Bible is a book (or more accurately, a library) unlike any other. At times it is best read slowly and out loud, savoring each word. At other times, we ought to read it in large portions, so as to encounter it’s broader story and plot line. In some moments, we need to linger on one simple phrase, allowing it to slowly seep into our heart. And at other times, we need to sit upright, put on our reading glasses, and study it.
For this week’s spiritual practice, our goal is to engage the Bible with our minds by learning to study the Bible.
But why bother studying the Bible? For followers of Jesus, the answer is simple: Jesus was a student and teacher of the Bible and lived as if the Bible was authoritative. And if that is true, and the Bible is indeed authoritative for us today, then we ought to think carefully about the text and what it means; in other words, we need to study it. Because while the Bible is many things, it is certainly not simple. This means that there is not one clear-cut formula for studying the Bible. Instead, there are a number of approaches to studying and peeling back the multi-layered meanings of the Bible over a lifetime.