Why Read The Bible?
“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” Psalm 119:105
For many centuries people have pondered the meaning and importance of the Christian scriptures. A 3rd century Christian author named Lactantius commented on the simple nature of the scriptures. He said that God wanted his holy scriptures to be “without adornment” so that all people might understand the things God had revealed about himself. For that reason, he made the scriptures so that all people, both the uneducated and the learned, might find them accessible. For that reason, he said, we should not look for embellishments in the scripture for they often cover up things that are false. Rather, “true things must be preferred to false, eternal things to those which are of short duration, useful things to those that are pleasant.” Scripture perfectly teaches us those things that are true, useful, and eternal.
A 4th century Christian theologian noted that the important thing about the scriptures was that we must be willing to listen to them. Listen to scripture, and let it sink into your mind, heart, and spirit because the word of God is like a pearl. It has a beautiful appearance and useful lessons to whatever side you turn it. As an example, ten different interpreters might find different useful lessons in one passage of scripture. This is how rich the holy scriptures are.
Ephrem the Syrian was a 4th century Christian author. He noted that original sin corrupted nature and heresy corrupted scripture. Pagans were wrong because they did not recognize the importance of original sin. Heretics go wrong when they do not understand how Christ suffered to deliver us from our fallen state. Sin, he said, has disturbed our nature. Our misunderstanding confuses scripture. Just as light helps the human body see, so the scriptures reveal everything we need to know about God and ourselves.
John Chrysostom had a number of things to say about the education of children. He noted that a child’s intellectual development was a great adventure. We should make the Bible, he said, part of that adventure. Instead of simply telling children stories from pagan mythology, he encouraged parents to teach them Bible stories. They will help them learn about God and also teach them moral lessons. A good way to do this is to teach them the story, then help them recite it themselves. When they are able to tell a Bible story in its depth and complexity, a parent might consider giving the child some small reward for their effort. This will keep them engaged and make the study of scripture fun.
He also had another comment about the power of the scriptures. He said, “If you sit in church for an hour, you’ll go home smelling like scripture, whether you like it or not.” This was his observation about the importance of worship; just being in the presence of God and the worshipping community has a profound impact. We leave with the fragrance of God, scripture, prayer, and worship in our spirits. It is a fragrance that does us good and helps us live out our faith during the week.
The scriptures give us life and it is a great gift from God that we have them so readily accessible.