Reading (and rereading) the Bible is not an end in itself. There is no heavenly trophy for most times reading the Bible. We are getting to know a person—God—not a textbook. And we must hold tight to the gospel truths that fuel our love of our neighbors. We read because we are loved by God. And because God loves us, we read so that we might love him and love our neighbors.
The Bible is not like other books. When we finish a novel or biography, we put it down and pick up something new. But many Christians complete a Bible reading and start right in again. For those new to the faith, this may seem strange.
Because frequent rereading of the Bible is not an obvious activity, I thought it might be helpful to highlight some of the reasons Christians never really finish reading the Scriptures.
The Bible is a Singular Book
Christians believe that the Bible is God’s Word, that God himself inspired what we read on those pages. This gives the Bible an authority and status unequal to any other book.
While this by itself does not imply we should reread the Bible, it does mean it’s no surprise if we treat it differently than other volumes on our shelves.
We Need to Keep Learning
The Bible gives us instruction, correction, comfort, and hope. This is the infinite, eternal God’s primary revelation of himself, and we finite, fallen humans don’t understand everything about God the first or second or tenth time we read it. Given our limitations and our nature, we will never have perfect knowledge of God in these imperfect bodies.
