Being the book buff that I am, I subscribe to a weekly email from Borders. Mostly, it’s good for the coupons. This week’s subject heading is “The Biggest Book Ever.” The book they are speaking of is the newest book in the Harry Potter series. If you are at all aware of the hype surrounding the release, you know the craziness of it.
Harry Potter is a touchy subject for some and I’m not looking for a fight today. Instead, I have another thought to ponder. The first thing that occurred to me is that the Bible is really “The Biggest Book Ever.” On thinking that, I wondered what kind of hype the Bible gets and what it should get. What would happen if we had the same enthusiasm about the Bible as we do about the newest Harry Potter book, or, if you prefer, the latest best seller in Christian books? This question came with a great deal of conviction. I’m not sure how often my life even reflects that the Bible is the Biggest book ever. I am managing to stay on track with a Bible reading plan this year, but I confess that when it comes to Chronicles, I find it laborious. Even the New Testament, which we tend to find easier to take in, is often read without pausing to allow the Holy Spirit to speak and encourage and convict. Ouch! Something to think about.
For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; 24 for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was. 25 But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does.
James 1:23-25 (NASB)
I think some of our lack of enthusiasm is due to a wrong perspective while reading the Bible. If read from the perspective of a textbook or how-to it will feel dull and weighty. But what if we read it as an autobiography of God that he has written for his children as their legacy. Hmmm..kind of changes my enthusiasm and desire to read. Can you tell what God is working on in me right now. = )