Commitment to Christ - Bible Reading

:: 13 :: Every scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for showing mistakes, for correcting, and for training character, so that the person who belongs to God can be equipped to do everything that is good. (2 Timothy 3:16-17)

When learning a new skill, it is wise to seek and learn from those who have mastered that skill, whether it be playing an instrument, molding a piece of pottery, or perfecting a jump shot. If we open our lives to a person possessing the authority and knowledge to help us progress, then our training will naturally include correction, teaching, and steering away from common mistakes.

Just as an expert has much to offer us when consulted, so too does the Bible serve as the critical source for our formation as disciples of Jesus.

Reading of the Bible with an open spirit, leads to a transformed life, for the Bible, read rightly, points beyond itself to the God who inspired it. You see, in the pages of scriptue one encounters God who longs to teach you and reveal who God is. Above all, the Bible points us to the living Word, the Christ who is present in each of us in Spirit, inviting each of us to become the Word enfleshed in the steps of Jesus — what Paul calls in his first letter to the Corinthians "living letters from God." But know this, the Bible is not an end in itself. It is given to us so that we might be joined to God, and transformed by God.

God, may I have a open heart, so that the Bible may teach me, move me, and transform me to be "living letters from God" to our world. Amen.