What does this look like to you?

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When my young nephew excitedly held up his scribbling so I could appreciate his “artwork,” I was smart enough to say, “Wow! Tell me about what you’ve colored here …”

Had I ventured a guess at what the erratic lines and colors were supposed to be, I would have been very wrong. What he said the scribbles were looked quite different from what I saw. It was smart to first identify what the work was so it could be adequately appreciated and praised.

There’s similarity to that with how we approach the Bible.

It’s always amazed me at what people do with the scriptures. Many turn them into a manual of some sort, especially popular leaders who write books and produce CDs promising to show you how the Bible is a great manual for accumulating wealth, for success, for leadership, for managing finances, for running a business, for marriage and parenting, for doing any number of other things. We tend to make the Bible into a manual about what is important to us.

But the Bible isn’t a manual. The Bible is God’s story revealing to us what is important to Him!

Look closely at what scripture says about God’s Word:

“For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires,” Hebrews 4;12.

“All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work,” 2 Timothy 3:16-17.

I’m convinced we understand far less from scripture than we could because of the attitudes we have about the purpose and value of the Bible. When we stop trying to tweak it to be or say what we want it to, and allow it to be the story and revelation of God to humankind, we then are in a position to have our lives fully impacted and transformed by God’s Word.

So when you open the pages of the Bible, just what are you reading?

Scotty