“The word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”
The Bible is God's inspired word. The sacred Scriptures are not literally from God's mouth to our ears. Instead, human beings wrote the Scriptures, influenced by their culture, language, and the experiences of their time. The Holy Spirit guided the Scriptural individuals and community through challenges in areas of life and death, justice, and sinful self-absorption. The Bible also provides prayers, laws, hymns, and other literary opportunities to inspire and instruct your faith. It is awe-inspiring that the ancient Biblical writers continued to challenge and inspire faith throughout history and even today.
The Bible is God's gift because it is a foundational place where the divine One reveals God's self to us. According to Donald K. McKim, the Bible was never intended to provide "'secret knowledge' or the private preserve of an elite group of persons." Trusting in the Holy Spirit to inspire our reading provides a pathway to the divine. At its best, Christianity teaches people historical-critical methods of interpretation under the Holy Spirit's guidance. When we read how the Biblical people interacted with God, we learn how God works in our world and in our lives.
The Bible reveals a world most have never known. The Israelite community is united in ways that today's individualistic society finds inappropriate. Yet we can learn much from Israelite justice in how they supported one another. The New Testament introduces us to God, revealed in Jesus the Messiah. Through Jesus' life, death, and resurrection, we have an intimate example of how to faithfully follow the one true God. Even the Messiah begins his ministry by forming community first. Throughout Scripture, even in Jesus' example, community is the foundation of faithful living.
Today, make the Bible a priority. Carve out a few minutes to open your Bible and read. I don't recommend opening the Bible to a random page and starting to read, as one of my high school pastors recommended. Instead, start at the beginning of a particular book. Try reading from a Study Bible and start with the introduction. That way, you will understand the book's flow and direction. Even if you read from the Psalms, it helps to know its origins and flow. When people ask me where to start, I usually invite them to read Genesis and Exodus first. Then read the Gospel of Mark, the earliest gospel written. From there, you have a foundation to build on. Most importantly, always pray first, inviting the Holy Spirit to guide your thoughts and learning. God bless your revelations as God speaks to your heart through reading the Bible!
