Experiencing God in the Bible
The Bible is a collection of writings, produced over span of 1500 years, including a wide variety of literary forms: narrative history, law (social, ritual and moral), poetry, proverbs, oracle, parable, riddles, apocalypse, essay, letter, biographical sketch, song lyric. It has been translated into more languages than any other writing and sold more copies than any book by a long shot.
People swear by it and swear at it It’s read daily or just in a pinch. People study it for hours and do “pin the tail on the donkey” on it. The Bible is quoted by lunatics and philosophers alike. It’s credited with all manner of good and blamed for all manner of evil. In other words, the Bible is quite a book.
I started reading it because Nancy’s grandmother wanted our son to get baptized and I was pretty sure I didn’t need religion, but as newly married 19 year old father, I knew I needed something. Once I started reading the Bible in 1971, I never stopped. The Bible has fascinated me and frustrated me. I’ve had the hair on my arms stand up while reading the Bible (and fallen asleep.) I’ve read it angry and argued with it, read it sad and cried on it. It’s made me feel ashamed--and cleaner than I ever thought a human being could feel. I’ve read whole chapters, completely distracted by other thoughts and read it like God is talking directly to me, like it was written only for me. I cannot imagine my life without this book.
So, what is it? A collection of 66 books telling story of a small nation? Or is God in it somehow? If so, how do you experience God in the Bible?
In a different era, it was enough to say:
The Bible is the Word of God.
The Bible tells us Jesus is the Son of God and how to live a life that pleases him.
Therefore we should accept Jesus and live like God wants us to.
While these statements are true, there is a problem with this formula. It begs obvious question: Who says the Bible is the Word of God? The synagogue? The Church? How do they know? My mother? How does she know? The latest Gallup Poll?
Christianity didn’t spread throughout pagan world by this formula. To pagans, the Bible was the nothing more than the writings of an obscure sect called the Hebrews.
People got turned on to the Bible after they were turned on to Jesus through the proclamation and reception of the gospel. The proclamation of the good news of Jesus led people to an experience of God, which was reinforced, interpreted, enhanced through the Bible.
The Bible’s power cannot be realized apart from an experience of the living God to which the Bible bears witness.
The Bible itself is the product of people experiencing God. Abraham, Sara, Moses, Miriam, David, Ruth—these are all people who experienced the presence of God in their lives in different ways. This doesn’t mean they had one mystical experience after other. Like us, they had bad days, and times they felt God’s absence more than his presence. But they all developed a sense of connection with God. Take that out of the Bible, you’ve got nothing left.
It’s a plain fact: experience of God is contagious. The power of the Bible is like that. The Bible is a deposit of authentic God-experience that can be conveyed to those who listen with an open heart.
To sum up: the gospel of Jesus Christ leads us to an experience of God, which leads us to Bible, which enhances our understanding of gospel, which deepens our experience of God, and leads us further into the Bible…
The Bible, in others words, is a means to an end, not an end in itself.
“You diligently study the scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life” (Jn. 5: 39)
Jesus spoke these words to the religious leaders of Israel who were masters of the Bible. They studied the Hebrew scriptures with a passion and diligence that would put us to shame. But many of them thought that by mastering the Bible you could possess eternal life. The thought that to know the Bible = knowing God.
But this approach misses the whole point of Bible. The Bible is not the destination. The Bibles is the guide, the signpost, pointing, leading, directing, bearing witness to a God meant to be experienced.
“These are the scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life” We don’t have life by reading the Bible. We have life by coming to the One the Bible leads us to. Therein lies the power of Bible. Everything in Bible, directly or indirectly, is there to bear witness to, to illuminate, shine spotlight on Jesus, who will embrace us, if we come to him.
Isn’t that interesting? As you read the Bible, you will catch a glimpse of him or something designed to lead you to him. This glimpse will come in many ways.
Perhaps it’s the end of long day. You’ve watched your favorite TV drama or had an enjoyable surf on the web, but you still feel weary within. You ate two pieces of chocolate cake and still no lift. You shuffle up to bed and before you turn out the light you open up that Bible on the night stand and you read these words:
“Come to me all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me for I am gentle and humble of heart and you will find rest for your souls” (Mt. 11: 28-29) Those words are an invitation. And so you turn over the burdens of the day to him…and when you finally put your head on the pillow, inwardly you’re putting your head on his chest.
Perhaps you read Ps. 101. Some lines of the psalm express just how you feel. Others make you groan. For example, where it says, “I will set before my eyes no vile thing” Now you remember visiting that web site filled with vile things. Next comes, “whoever slanders his neighbor in secret, him I will put to silence.” Now you remember that conversation over lunch, when a co-worker’s name came up…how you listened to gossip about your co-worker, Joe, then shared your negative opinion about Joe. So you come to Jesus saying, “Lord, you’re the only one who can pray this psalm with integrity; forgive my sins and let your holy love purify my heart.” Then you understand what he wants you to do tomorrow: go to person you had lunch with and tell him, “My concerns about Joe? I should be taking up with him, not you…”
When you understand the Bible is all about revealing Jesus in different ways so that you come to him…it transforms your understanding & experience of the Bible.
If you’re new to the Bible, start with those parts of the Bible where you can see Jesus most clearly. Read the gospels. Then go to Acts. Then on to some of the letters written by Paul, or Peter, or John or James.. Some things will make perfect sense; others will trouble you. That’s expected. But catching a glimpse of Jesus, you will be given opportunities to come to Him. If you refuse, your reading will be interesting and informative, perhaps, but not powerful. If you come to him, it will be a doorway into heaven for you. The choice is yours.
Think of the Bible as a feast, with all sorts of different foods. A toddler can only enjoy a few things from that banquet table. As the child grows, her appetite matures. You have a whole lifetime to enjoy food, so you let your appetite develop and you follow your appetite into new territory. Mushrooms. Asparagus. Triple-Cheese Lasagna.
It’s the same thing with the Bible. You have a lifetime to enjoy this book. As Jesus comes into focus, he will lead you to other parts of the Bible. Follow Jesus into and through the Bible.
Jesus quoted psalms more than any other book. So you look through the psalms. These are prayers by people pursuing God. Look for the ones that resonate with you and pray them. At any given time, they won’t all resonate with you. Start with the ones that do.
Jesus talked about how things were “in the beginning.” Like he was restoring something that got badly broken at the dawn of creation. So you’ll want to read book of Genesis. It’s the book of beginnings.
Earliest chapters are about beginning of life. The later chapters about the beginning of God’s attempt to reach people who have fallen from relationship with him.
You’ll notice that some portions of Genesis are a different kind of writing than the New Testament. The gospels were written from the perspective of human eye-witnesses. But the first chapter of Genesis, written about the creation--obviously there were no human eyewitnesses to that. So it’s a different kind of writing. Take that into account. Some read that first chapter as if the world were made in 6, 24 hr days. Others see the days of creation as distinct eras (the Hebrew translated “day” allows either meaning.) Some see it as a divinely inspired story that communicates deep truths about creation. However you understand these things, you start to view world the differently as you read Genesis, chapter one: you see it as Jesus sees it. This is God’s creation. He made all this and me. And I’m made in his image, but that has been distorted by my rebellion against God.
So you make these explorations into the Bible, always mindful that it’s a means to an end. Designed to reveal Jesus so you can come to him. It’s in the coming to him that power happens.
The Bible can be an intimidating book. It can seem like this inaccessible fortress in a faraway land that you have to struggle to reach. But there are lots of ways to get into the Bible.
The Bible has only been widely available for personal ownership in the last 200 years or so. Jesus, for example, didn’t have his own personal copy of the Hebrew scriptures. In his era, people heard portions read and commented on by others. Stories of the Bible were told around the campfire at night. So we are not to suppose that the only valid way into the Bible is by faithfully doing one of those reading-through-the-Bible-in-a-year reading plan. By the way, that’s a great way to read the Bible. But what if you can’t read? What if large books put you off, and you get a tension headache every time you read longer than five minutes?
Remember the Bible was told before it was written. The Bible began as an oral tradition in a story-telling culture. It is designed no just for reading, but for telling and hearing. That’s what’s happening in children’s ministry. Portions of the Bible are being told. This kind of introduction to the Bible makes it a lot less intimidating. So a child who learns the Bible “from his Mama’s (and/or Papa’s) knee” will find it easier to access as an adult, reading on his own.
What if you didn’t have the benefit of that introduction to the Bible? Fortunately there are modern “tellings” of the Bible. There are some very good films based on the Bible (as well as some real stinkers. Jesus of Nazareth is an excellent film. So is The Prince of Egypt. The Book of God, by Walter Wangerin, is superb re-telling of the story-line of the whole Bible. There are devotional guides that provides bite size readings on a daily basis. The Bible is available on tape and CD, with dramatic readings and sound effects. So there are lots of ways to get into the Bible. If you need a bridge, find one you can cross and cross it.
What if you’re into the Bible, but it’s gotten dull? Try reading Wangerin’s book, based on the Bible. Or any of the books by Sholem Asch (available at the library) about biblical characters. Or try a new translation of the Bible, like The Message, by Eugene Peterson. Or try listening to the Bible on tape or CD.
Of course the fastest way to invigorate your reading of the Bible is to actually do what it says. If it’s getting dull, maybe it’s time to stretch into some truth you haven’t put into practice before, like stretching into the truth of the church as the body of Christ, by joining small group, where you step beyond the crowd into a group of people who know each other’s names. Or by taking the Prayer Ministry class where you learn to pray for the sick. Or by participating in Compassion Ministry, where you can practice the truth about feeding the hungry. As you stretch you will feel the need for the Bible in new ways.
The Bible is worth a lifetime of attention. And there are lots of other issues to face
in reading the Bible. Interpretation. Application. Relevance for today. But all that
hinges on your fundamental posture toward the Book…
You read this book, looking for God because God is looking for you.
As you do, it becomes a meeting place. A rendezvous between you & your God.