The Burden of Bible Reading
How’s your One-Year-Bible-Reading plan going?
It’s January 15th, as of this writing. Are you still hanging in there? Have you missed any days? Maybe you’ve given up already. I have a better question maybe. How’s it really going, in your heart?
No Burdens in Christ
Listen, Christ came to free His people from their burdens. The Gospel message is a message of liberation, a message of freedom. As such, any message that puts a burden upon the backs of the people is not from God, and I mean, any message.
Yes, this includes the burden of Bible reading.
The only biblical burden I find is the burden of the saved for the lost, and this is a good thing. We ought to feel a burden to proclaim the glorious riches of God’s grace to the lost, but what about Bible reading?
The Bible, a Treasure
The Bible is a treasure.
Have you ever considered the implications of what having the Bible means? The God of the Universe, the Creator and Sustainer of all things chose to reveal Himself to us through His word and He “has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the full knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.” (2 Peter 1:3) He has literally given us everything we need to be saved and to live in that salvation, to walk it out.
He has withheld nothing from us. In fact, He has given us “every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.” (Ephesians 1:3) He has given us Himself. He has given us Jesus, and the Word is what reveals Him to us.
The Bible is literally “God-breathed”, inspired by God and it’s doing something. It’s “profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be equipped, having been thoroughly equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16-17) The Word of God equips the people of God for the work of God through the Spirit of God. What a treasure, what a jewel! It is “living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:12)
David tells us that that the Bible is “perfect, restoring the soul,” that it is:
“sure, making wise the simple,
right, rejoicing the heart,
pure, enlightening the eyes,
clean, enduring forever.” (Psalm 19:7-9)
He goes on to tell us that they [His commands, His word, i.e. the Bible] “are more desirable than gold, even more than much fine gold; Sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb.” (v.10) He continues with, “Moreover, by them Your slave is warned; In keeping them there is great reward.” (v.11) What a blessing, that He has given us His Word!
The longest chapter in the Bible is Psalm 119, an entire chapter about His word, His precepts, His commands, His statutes, in other words, an entire chapter about the Bible. His “word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” (Psalm 119:105) How could I know how to live without it? How could I know what to do without it? How could I ever know Jesus without it? Well, in short, I can’t. Impossible.
The Bible is necessary, essential to life and salvation and holiness.
“I have treasured your word in my heart, that I may not sin against you.” (Psalm 119:11) Treasure it in your heart, store it up.
Read it. Study it. Meditate upon it. Memorize it. Obey it.
Just don’t make it a burden or put that burden upon another.
One Year?
Have you ever asked that question?
Listen, reading the Bible in a year is a good thing. No doubt. Reading the Bible in a month would be a good thing? Is reading the Bible in two years or even three somehow less of a good thing?
What do men do, but excel at putting the burden of righteousness, the burden that Christ has liberated us from, right back upon the backs of the people. Well-meaning Christians do it. Preachers do it. I’ve done it for sure.
In 2019, I read the entire Bible in a year, and it was a blessed year for sure. I had read the entire Bible through in a year previously, but it had been several years. I attributed and still do, the blessedness of 2019 to my consumption of God’s word among other things. I set my heart that this would be my habit for the rest of my life. I did it in 2020, again in 2021. 2022, yep. 2023 for sure.
My Bible reading app encouraged this. Each morning, I’d dutifully open my Bible, read for 15 to 20 minutes and receive my check mark as a reward. The others I’d invited to read with me could also see my progress, my piety, my faithfulness. It kept track of my streaks and if I missed a day, I could always catch up, but if I missed two days, I’d be challenged to make it up due to time requirements and would find myself confronted with the difficult decision of going ahead and checking off the reading I hadn’t done, in essence, lying to myself, and the app, and my Bible friends about my progress, my piety, my faithfulness.
Something changed.
My reading became mechanical, a chore, a duty to be performed and somehow, if I didn’t read the entire Bible in a year, somehow my walk was lesser. Again, who decided that reading the Bible in a year was somehow the standard? Sounds eerily similar to the extra-biblical requirements placed upon the people by the rabbis through rabbinical tradition, not from God’s Word.
More Important than Bible Reading?
But, there are things more important than Bible reading. You mean? Yes!
Consider that for 1600 years more or less, no one had a Bible and if they had one, they likely would not have been able to read it, since only the clergy spoke or read Latin, and many common people like you and me couldn’t read at all.
The Ordinary Means of Grace are God’s recipe for our sanctification:
- The Ministry of the Word, sitting under the regular preaching of the full counsel of God’s word.
- The Fellowship of the Body, the unity of God’s people pursuing Him in community.
- The Administration of the Sacraments, baptism and communing as a participation in the faith, a reminder, a memorial.
These are the blessings God has given us to allow us to behold the glory of Jesus as in a mirror, and be conformed into His image, degree by degree. (2 Corinthians 3:18) Let this, the corporate practice of the faith drive our personal faith practices.
To What End?
In 2024, I set down the burden of yearly Bible reading.
I read the Bible every morning. Every day, I consume God’s word in some way. I read it, study it, memorize it, meditate upon it. Most evenings, it is the last thing I consume, but I don’t bind my conscience to an arbitrary standard anymore. The relief was palpable.
Please, read the whole Bible in a year as you feel led! If you’ve never read the entire Bible, you should, and why not do it in a year, but understand this. You don’t have to! It’s not a measure of performance. God is not somehow disappointed in you if you don’t. Your walk is not less than that of another who continues the practice.
Most of all, remind yourself of the treasure that God’s word is and ask God to give you a hunger for His word and maybe, just maybe, you’ll find yourself reading it more than ever. Now, get back to your app!
