Read and Understand

Don't you wish that life had an instruction book?  Some sort of advice left by God?  Somewhere we could go when we have questions about what to do?

Oh, wait.  I think I've heard of something like that.  Something... wait... it's coming to me...

I've got it.  The Bible!

The Bible wasn't intended to be a decoration on our shelves or a dust-collector in our corners as it has too often become.  It may have originally been written to audiences such as the Ephesians or the Galatians, but it's truth has not faded with time.  Yet, if the Bible holds so many answers to the questions we have about life, why does it sometimes seem so... confusing?

Because the Bible is Holy Book, not a magic book.  Sometimes, we read the Bible expecting emotional realizations to jump out at us each time we open its pages.  When we are faced only with incomprehension and confusion, we get it frustrated.  So we give up.

This is where we fail.  The average American lacks understanding of the Bible simply because they do not study it.  Like any other subject, the more we learn, the more sense we can make of it.  In a way, it's similar to math, science, or a foreign language.  Only nothing you will learn in those subjects can save you with love so powerful.  The Bible promises to hold truth that will change our lives.

While we read, we must remember, we are students.  We cannot expect to simply read a text written thousands of years ago and understand every word and cultural reference.  We must use our resources: Bible studies, commentaries, peers.  Sometimes, simply reading the Bible on a regular basis can help.  When we begin to understand the context of things, they take on new meanings.

So let's give it a try.  After all, if we possess a book with truth as powerful as the gospel, would it not be worth our time to read and understand it?