Have you ever thought it impossible for ordinary people to really know the Bible? For years I’d assumed that knowing the Bible was unattainable, or perhaps reserved for only a select few.
I didn’t grow up in church and had no Bible knowledge until the age of 21 when I became a follower of Jesus Christ. After that, I read through the Bible several times and even held to a daily Bible-reading regimen. But I couldn’t confidently say that I knew the Bible. My Bible knowledge resembled a pile of disconnected wires. Strings of truth had no relationship with the other strings. I had no foundation or framework from which to build.
Wanting to go deeper with God and His Word, I began memorizing books of the Bible at age 35. I began with Ephesians. High motivation overcame my doubts and I accomplished my goal in about six months.
A monumental milestone remains in place at my finish line. I couldn’t say that I knew God’s Word yet. What I could say was, “I know the book of Ephesians.” And for the first time in my Christian experience, I felt as though God’s Word was knowable. I had proven that to myself. I didn’t know the entire Bible, but I had a handle on Ephesians. I finally convinced myself that the knowledge of the Bible was not beyond my reach.
My next book to memorize was 2 Peter. This three-chapter book opened my eyes to new things and I added it to my reservoir of knowledge. The books of 1 Peter, 1 Thessalonians and James followed, and in time, many more books. With each chapter memorized, my confidence grew. An unlearned, untrained person like me can grow into a deep knowledge of God. I’m not destined to stay in the shallow end of the pool.
Now, more than twenty years have passed and I have sought out more formal Bible training. But I look back and see the exponential leaps I took in teaching myself the Bible, through memorizing book by book.
The inexhaustible nature of God’s Word inspires me to keep learning it. Treasures await the seeker, with no end to this limitless resource. In case you are thinking, “Knowing the Bible will take forever,” my response is, “Yes, it will take a lifetime.”
Does knowing the Bible seem an impossible goal? What encouragement can you offer others?
John Stonestreet, in a recent Breakpoint Commentary, “A Mile Wide, an Inch Deep” reminds us that Scripture isn’t a disconnected series of moralistic or therapeutic thoughts served up so we can be happy and successful. It’s a grand narrative that tells us how we are to know the God who made us and what it means to think and live rightly in His World.
It’s never too late to start reading and memorizing and knowing God better. I was almost 40 when I read the Bible for the first time. Nearly ten years have past and I astound myself when I realize I have read through the Bible numerous times and memorized several books and passages. But, I also know that the reason I do these things is not to score points and say I did it, but to know my Maker more intimately. And I can say with confidence that I do know God better and love him more because I know his words.