Getting to know the people of the Bible

On Friday, I was reading some blogs as a quick mind break at work like I do periodically to keep myself from going insane or consuming too much caffeine. As I read the different blogs, I thought about how the passion of the authors of the blogs comes through when I read them. Part of the reason that I can imagine the passion is that I have listened to sermons by many of the people who write the blogs I read and I have read their books. Due to this familiarity with their whole body of work (sermons and books), I can understand the passion that is coming through when they say what they say.

I also thought about how the same thing is true for the blogs of friends. I can read the sarcasm in what they are writing because I know their personalities. I often imagine them speaking what is written and that adds to the experience.

When I read fiction and nonfiction, I am often able to imagine characters coming alive. Good authors feed you enough details about the character that you get to know them and can understand the decisions the characters made. One of the best examples of this for me is Cry the Beloved Country by Alan Paton. This is one of my favorite books of all time. The subtle description by Paton made me picture the main character as James Earl Jones. Jones just fit the description. I read the book probably about five times before I realized there was a movie, and that Jones played the main character in the movie. I have also found that the more works you read by a particular author, the better you understand books that you take the time to go back and reread.

I have started making it a point to write letters to some of the boys in New Orleans for various occasions. As I write the letters, I hope that the boys know me well enough to hear the love and concern and encouragement contained in the letters. Part of the purpose of a letter is to communicate feelings as well as news in the letters. My letters to New Orleans also contain communications of the gospel.

Taking all of this into consideration, the thought that hit me Friday was simply this: why do I not allow the characters, the authors, and God to come alive while reading the Bible like I do when I read all other types of literature or when I write letters. Part of this requires me to be familiar with the big picture of the Bible, understanding its main purpose, and reading it as a whole. When I read about a particular character in the Bible, I need to get to know that person. When I read a letter from Paul to a church or a person, I need to know something about Paul's life so that I can read his passion. I need to know something about the recipient so that I can understand Paul's love for them and the concern that he is communicating. Most of all, I need to listen to God's voice throughout all of the Bible and use it to understand Him more and more. Get to know Jesus through reading through the gospels. Understand why He made the decisions He made by reading through the Old Testament and seeing Him in every part of it. Everything I have been reading, secularly and religiously, for the past year probably led to the one thought on Friday afternoon. Simply put, the Bible and the God behind the Bible should come alive for us by reading the Bible just as our favorite characters from good books come alive. I am challenging myself to read this way for the next few weeks so that maybe this will become a habit for me. It definitely makes reading the Bible more enjoyable!