Claiming that God’s word is important and actually giving it priority in one’s life, however, are two entirely different prospects. Knowing what to do is one thing. Actually caring enough to take the time and do it is a whole other matter. Most Christians would never suggest that God’s word has no meaning or no importance in their spiritual walk. Many would even go so far as to say that they place a priority on his word. The question is… do they really mean it?
According to a 2013 survey by the American Bible Society, more than half of all Americans think the Bible should have a greater influence in our society, but only about one in five read it regularly (Source: http://www.religionnews.com/2013/04/04/poll-americans-love-the-bible-but-dont-read-it-much/). Frankly, I wonder whether that one in five statistic is actually accurate, but I guess it all depends on how you define “regularly.” That same source said that 61 percent of people who owned Bibles wished they read it more and 57 percent read their bibles 4 times per year or less.
What concerns me most about our current Christian culture is the influx of quick-hit scripture we are bombarded with regularly on social media. We can tweet it, post it, share it, gram it, and put it in a meme. We can get in from a subscription to a daily email or even receive in through daily texts. To those who have that itching in the back of their brain telling them that they need to be in God’s word, this flood of scripture can be cathartic. We think that reading a stand-alone verse here or there is better than not reading anything at all - and maybe it is.
On the other hand, while it may feel good to click “like” or “favorite” a good Bible verse that has been posted by one of your friends... and it may feel even better for you to repost the daily verse you got in your inbox and see everyone else "like" it... getting your scripture in 140 character snippets will not result in spiritual growth nor will it truly satisfy that deep longing inside for the truth of God’s word. Instead, it just further promotes an already too shallow Biblical understanding among God’s people.
This is not to say that there is anything wrong with flooding social media with scripture. God knows that Wild West frontier needs as much taming as possible. However, true spiritual growth only comes with deliberate, consistent, and extensive exposure to large blocks of God’s word. Getting a true understanding of God’s word requires seeing it in its proper context. That means when we sit down to study God’s word, we need to take in as much of it as possible in each session. We need to see more than the by-line or tag line. We need to see the story behind the bumper sticker quote.
When I finally came to my senses and decided to get my spiritual life back in order, the very first thing I did was to start a daily routine of reading God’s word. I didn’t randomly choose sections of scripture nor did I try to start at Genesis and work my way through all the begats and thou shalts. I didn’t even start at the beginning of the New Testament in Matthew (there’s a whole chapter of begats there too). Rather, at the advise of a friend, I began to read the gospel according to John… then the gospel according to Luke… then Romans. With just that little bit of scripture – deliberately and consistently applied – I began to see a change in my life. I wanted more, so I went back and began to read the remainder of the New Testament. This time, the begats in Matthew were not so bad. As I read the New Testament, I began to see scripture in a whole new light, seeing things I never saw before.
When I finished the New Testament, I didn’t immediately go to the Old Testament, but started over again in the New Testament. By this time I was hooked and I was truly beginning to see real change in my life. I wasn’t reading God’s word every single day, but it was pretty close to it. Eventually, I did go back and pick up the Old Testament and this time it wasn’t nearly as boring as it was the first time I tried to read it. I was seeing Christ even in the Old Testament. It had all new meaning to me.
Now, I have a true love for God’s word. I want more and more of it all the time. If I go more than a day or two without reading (or hearing) God’s word, it really affects my life. The love for His word is real – but so is the NEED. I need His word in my life every day.
The point of all this is simple. God’s word changes lives, but only if you really commit yourself to it and read and study it in a manner that builds you spiritually. My Christian life can be broken into two distinct periods of time: My life before making God’s word a priority and my life after making God’s word a priority. Can you guess in which era I have grown the most spiritually?
It is all a matter of commitment. I make you this promise. Commit to reading God’s word 10 minutes a day, 6 days a week, for at least 6 weeks. At the end of the 6 weeks, your attitude and commitment to God’s word will have changed so drastically that you will wonder why you never tried this before. Take this challenge:
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