December 27, 2019
I want to congratulate you on making it to the end of a year of Bible reading. I also want to challenge you to sign up again to take this journey with us in 2020. There is nothing as important as Bible reading. Yet, not everyone holds this view. Last year GQ magazine published a list of "21 Books You Don't Have to Read." Condemned were such classics as "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn," and "The Lord of the Rings." The magazine's editors described these classics as racist, sexist and boring. But the one book that was attacked most vehemently was the Bible, of course. It was described as repetitive, self-contradictory and foolish. What I consider the most important book in Western history is, according to this periodical, filled with men's grooming tips and just not worth the effort to read. This should not take us by surprise because the idea of us being accountable to an Almighty God unhinges so many moderns.
But why make Bible reading a priority in the new year? Because without a knowledge of the Bible you will miss so much of western history. Without reading the Bible, we can never comprehend works of art like the Sistine Chapel, the Pieta, or the Last Supper and we would never fully grasp Dante, Milton or Bach. How about Handel's Messiah that is sung every Christmas? If you don't have a working knowledge of the Bible, most of Shakespeare's allusions will be missed. You'll never understand why the Pilgrims came to New England, you'll miss what motivated the abolition of slavery, and you'll find Martin Luther King, Jr's "Letter from Birmingham Jail" unintelligible. That is a drop in the bucket of the Bible's influence.
Most importantly, without the Bible you will walk in ignorance. Without the Bible you won't understand how to find meaning and purpose in life, how to overcome sin and guilt, and how to make sense of many social issues today.
I know I am just one voice in a vast wilderness of voices but there is nothing more important than allowing God to speak to you each day through the Bible.
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