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Gather Your Manna Fresh Every Morning. -- Why Is It So Tough To Read My Bible?

“Read the Bible daily. Make it part of every day’s business to read and meditate on some portion of God’s Word. Gather your manna fresh every morning. Choose your own seasons and hours. Do not scramble over and hurry your reading. Give your Bible the best, and not the worst, part of your time. But whatever plan you pursue, let it be a rule of your life to visit the throne of grace and the Bible every day.”
~ J.C. Ryle

I get these quotes by Ryle everyday and they are usually very encouraging to me. The ones I particularly like I post up on this blog. Ryle is very straight-forward with his words, choosing not simply to shower the reader with fluffy platitudes, but often delivering biblical truth in such a way that even the most spiritually minded people would find themselves challenged to pursue God and Christ in a way more in keeping with what He deserves. 

Today's quote really made me stop and think. On one hand, I fell I have come to a place in my life where I do not base success in my "performace" as a Christian on any arbitrary set of personal standards of holy living, but on the other, a realization that I find myself falling woefully short in the area of the daily reading of scripture. Furthermore, I do not think it to be the zenith of Christian practice to arrive at a place where I am able to do that. However, I find myself in a place where I am not reading the scriptures much at all. A couple of months ago, I was all fired up to read the bible through in a year. That lasted all of about a week before I was so far behind that I just gave up. I still get an e-mail everyday with links to the daily scripture reading, but I must confess to deleting that e-mail most days. It's just so easy to hit that delete button in the privacy of my own e-mail viewing and thus absolve myself of having to read that day's passages.  

At this point, I must tell you that I have listened to all the advice in the world about how to read the bible, how NOT to read the bible, and everything in between. I have come to realize that the problem rarely lies in technique. In fact, I'd say, for me, that the problem with getting into a pattern of daily scripture intake has little to do with motive, either. I love the scriptures! I love how God uses His Word to challenge me and reveal more of Himself to me. So, it's not desire. So, what's keeping me from getting in there on a daily basis?

I have come to associate the Bible as a treasure from God. The completed revelation of everything God desired for me to know and think about. I base my entire worldview from those precious words. I have dedicated much of my free time since my conversion to the careful study of that book. So, after a bit of introspection, I believe that the root problem is some form of shame or embarrassment. It's like that awkwardness of not connecting with your best friend for a long time after they move away. You find yourself not wanting to explain why you haven't called. It's just easier to not call. After all, they're not nearby, so you can put if off and not deal with it.

I think that's the situation I find myself in. When I open the bible, God is there. If I don't, God seems to remain distant. I know He's not really distant, but like a gentleman, He waits for me to come back to Him. I know the character of God is kind and desiring of intimate fellowship. Waiting with open arms ready to throw me a banquet every time I return. I know these things. The "wall" in my relationship with Him is fully constructed by my own "hands."

I'm hungry. I think I'll tear down that wall and go out an gather some "manna."

Even though I don't deserve to be taken back, I think I'll head over anyway.

 

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Comments

  1. AnonymousNovember 16, 2009 at 10:00 PM

    And He won't even give you a guilt trip! Instead He joyfully accepts and loving guides. What a wonderful God we serve!

    This brought a big smile to my face! Well said. Thank you for sharing :)

    ReplyDelete

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