The Bible.
The most important collection of documents available to humanity is also the most vulnerable to misuse, abuse, and, worse still, neglect.
My Dad was upstairs in his room night after night. He wasn’t bothered with television. He couldn’t be bothered with the radio either. Night after night, he could devote his time to sitting on a wooden chair with his glasses on and peering carefully at his well-worn Bible. I know this because night after night, when I was on my way to sleep, I would knock on his door to say goodnight, and I could see in the crack that the door allowed the familiar figure in the familiar pose as he said goodnight to me. He was not a great literary man; he read out of necessity and function. That is to say, he knew that to function, it was necessary to understand the wonderful words of life to be discovered in that glorious collection of documents.
I didn’t love scripture initially. Even if it was collected in a single bound sine, such an extensive collection of documents was still a lot to get my head around. As someone brought up in a Christian home, I didn’t at first see the value of something that I had to read week after week. What got me to discover the fascinating nature of the collection of documents was a comic-book-style presentation. Being into superhero comics at the time, it connected well with me to see aspects of biblical content portrayed in that format. That gave insight into the content of the collection of documents as something worth considering.
From there, I developed a love of words, so I developed an interest in aspects of that intriguing collection of documents. There were what appeared to be the narrative parts that I loved at first – Samuel and Kings and the book of Acts. Then, there came a massive love for various expressions in the gospels. However, what became clear in all the reading was the importance of understanding all in the Old to appreciate all in the New. And that was not straightforward. It is still not easy to read all of the scriptures because they cover a range of styles of writing in various cultural contexts and reveal aspects of the nature and purpose of the Almighty God.
Though it is not easy, I continue to learn as my Dad displayed that the only way to function is to appreciate the necessity of this beautiful collection of documents in its entirety. The Bible challenges me to think. The Bible challenges me to act. The Bible challenges me to feel. The Bible challenges me to work. The Bible challenges me to discover. The Bible challenges me to reflect. The Bible challenges me to recognise, above all else, that there is a God who is good; he creates, He sustains, and judges. He has made Himself known through His relationship with Israel. He has revealed Himself through His Son. He continues to reveal who He is by His Spirit through the exploits of those who followed His Son to display what life is like individually and as a community pursuing the King and His righteousness.
I understand why people misuse, abuse and neglect the Bible. It’s sad, but I understand. I have misused it. I have abused it. I have neglected it. I have used it as something convenient to justify my approach. I’ve stressed elements of it at the cost of the other parts. I’ve ignored the parts that I found tough and preferred to stick to what I thought I understood. Some have talked about making sure you read it all the way through in a year, as though that makes a difference. The love of the Writer makes the difference in engaging with this supreme collection of documents. The love of God and the desire to relate to Him daily informs the way we work with His Word, study His Word, meditate on His Word and live in accordance with His Word.
For His Name's Sake
C. L. J. Dryden
Shalom
