Much of the Bible is as plain as the nose on your face; “…each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor…” comes to mind.
And some of the Bible is…challenging. Even a statement as clear as, “Those who want to be my disciples must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me” requires a person to answer some questions:
- What’s it mean to want to be Christ’s disciple?
- What’s it mean to deny myself?
- What cross? Follow him where?
In either case, there’s much to be learned by coming at the text over and over from a variety of angles. Reflect on it often enough and putting off falsehood begins to distinguish itself from speaking truthfully to our neighbors—like two facets of the same jewel that catch the light differently and beautifully. The same goes for figuring out what cross I’m supposed to take up as I follow Jesus.
There’s no secret here. It’s the difference between stealing glances at the sunrise from a car traveling 75 miles an hour and pulling off the highway, sitting on the hood of your car and waiting until it dawns on you.
It’s not that you can’t read the Bible at freeway speed; just that you don’t have to, and it’s a better experience if you don’t. In that spirit, we suggest the following:
- Read the text again and again till you see something you didn’t see before.
- Read the text before you sleep and again when you wake up.
- Read the text out loud so you know what it sounds like coming out of your own mouth. Read it faster and slower; emphasize the verbs, then the nouns.
- Listen to the text to see if it hears different than it reads. (People listened to the Bible for centuries before the printed text was widely available—it’s still the only way many people have access to the text.) There are audio Bible texts available free and for sale at sites like:
- Listen to the text while you walk, run or drive. Movement stimulates perceptions that sometimes lead to unexpected insights.
