The Bible: From Boring to Transforming
“Honestly, reading the Bible is boring,” says 16 year old Micha, “I like the stories and stuff, but don’t see how it applies to my life.” This outlook of scripture is all too common among young people today. Micha represents a generation where all good things come in small screens, where satisfaction is based on speed, and where attention is unnecessary to succeed. This modern era has rejected patience and stillness for busyness and productivity. In such times, the Bible has more to offer than ever before. When the fickle mire of civilization offers no solid ground, the solid rock of truth shines like gold to the man atop it. Yet, this generation prefers to slosh in the mud, to be satisfied with mud-pies …show more content…
I just don’t enjoy reading the Bible. It’s like reading those Shakespeare plays, lots of confusing words and topics. I get bored with it really fast.” “That’s an interesting point. So Micha, why do you read the Bible if it’s boring?” This question catches the shy teenager by surprise, perhaps he had not considered his motivation in this area before. For Micha, the first reason that occurs to him is his parents. As loving, involved parents, mom and dad would ask Micha daily how his devotional time was. For Micha, the act of reading scripture had become another box on the list of chores he would check off to please his parents. Micha continued, explaining how his Youth Group was going through the Bible in a year together, and therefore he had to read to keep up. Micha had become accustomed to using scripture to appear …show more content…
Paul writes to Timothy, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work” 2 Timothy 3:16. Essentially, when we read the Bible, we are communicating with God to receive His intervention, His will for each situation we face. Too often we misunderstand what it means to listen to God’s will. If we were to really receive the Bible, we would mull over it, wrestle with it, and let its truth soak into our hearts and initiate the change that He promises. Instead we settle for God’s will as an explanation for various events of life, such as death and disaster. God desires us to communicate with him to receive His will for our hearts, mainly to look like His Son Jesus. “But wait,” Micha interjects, “if God wanted to communicate with us so bad, why does He put this stuff in a book, why is it so unclear?” “That’s an excellent question, consider Moses’s face when it had beheld just a fraction of God’s glory. No one could bear to look at him for days. I believe that the Bible is the way it is to reveal as much as possible about God in a way that won’t kill
“Honestly, reading the Bible is boring,” says 16 year old Micha, “I like the stories and stuff, but don’t see how it applies to my life.” This outlook of scripture is all too common among young people today. Micha represents a generation where all good things come in small screens, where satisfaction is based on speed, and where attention is unnecessary to succeed. This modern era has rejected patience and stillness for busyness and productivity. In such times, the Bible has more to offer than ever before. When the fickle mire of civilization offers no solid ground, the solid rock of truth shines like gold to the man atop it. Yet, this generation prefers to slosh in the mud, to be satisfied with mud-pies …show more content…
I just don’t enjoy reading the Bible. It’s like reading those Shakespeare plays, lots of confusing words and topics. I get bored with it really fast.” “That’s an interesting point. So Micha, why do you read the Bible if it’s boring?” This question catches the shy teenager by surprise, perhaps he had not considered his motivation in this area before. For Micha, the first reason that occurs to him is his parents. As loving, involved parents, mom and dad would ask Micha daily how his devotional time was. For Micha, the act of reading scripture had become another box on the list of chores he would check off to please his parents. Micha continued, explaining how his Youth Group was going through the Bible in a year together, and therefore he had to read to keep up. Micha had become accustomed to using scripture to appear …show more content…
Paul writes to Timothy, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work” 2 Timothy 3:16. Essentially, when we read the Bible, we are communicating with God to receive His intervention, His will for each situation we face. Too often we misunderstand what it means to listen to God’s will. If we were to really receive the Bible, we would mull over it, wrestle with it, and let its truth soak into our hearts and initiate the change that He promises. Instead we settle for God’s will as an explanation for various events of life, such as death and disaster. God desires us to communicate with him to receive His will for our hearts, mainly to look like His Son Jesus. “But wait,” Micha interjects, “if God wanted to communicate with us so bad, why does He put this stuff in a book, why is it so unclear?” “That’s an excellent question, consider Moses’s face when it had beheld just a fraction of God’s glory. No one could bear to look at him for days. I believe that the Bible is the way it is to reveal as much as possible about God in a way that won’t kill