Dear friends,
I was particularly struck this week by a TV programme I watched called, ‘The Book which changed my Life’. It told the stories of five people whose lives had been completely turned round due to a book they had read. The programme included a prisoner who had read his first book ever in jail… and a man with severe dyslexia who could not previously even read a label in the supermarket. It was a moving and inspiring watch. And it made me wonder which book had changed me?
In our Christian faith we are often known as ‘The People of the Book’…. because we read and hold holy the Bible as the Word of God for us. We listen to three readings from it every Sunday and Wednesday… and over the three year cycle will cover much of the New Testament, but only a fraction of the Old.
It is good to remember that the Bible is not only ONE book… it is made up of 66 books, written over thousands of years by different people and communities. If you were asked, as I have been sporadically, how might you describe the book of the Bible to someone who didn’t know it at all – what would you say? A book of God’s relationship with us? God’s Word? A love story of salvation? Inspired, containing eternal Truth, authoritative? God breathed? How do you think of the Bible?
The Bible contains many different genre for us to consider: History, Poetry, Wisdom, Prophecy, Gospels, Letters and Apocalyptic literature. And because of this diversity some suggest that to read the Bible as if it is a novel, from beginning to end, might not be the most helpful way to approach it initially. Of course many do read it this way – but it can be challenging – unless you read alongside commentaries or find out about the different contexts as you read. It is helpful to adjust our way of reading and understanding according to the type of writing we have in front of us.
But each book of the Bible has its own uniqueness – which allows it to breathe and express its own insights and truth. For example, the Gospel of John is very different from the other three Gospels and if we try to make it fit neatly into the framework of the others there is the risk we may rob all of them of their individual purpose and power in telling of the person and mission of Jesus.
The overarching reality of the Bible is that through scripture we are taught about ourselves, our human condition, and our relationship with God who is the One who creates, redeems and sustains the whole of creation through our Saviour Jesus Christ. The Bible is the story of our relationship with the One who has loved us from the beginning and who will love us to the end and beyond. It is a book that is Good News. It is a book that changes lives.
I do hope you read the Bible at home. I do hope you cherish and hold dear the Scriptures – for within their pages Life is to be found.
with love, Liz