For God So Loved the World, He Didn't Send a Book...

"Hi.. I'm Randy and I'm a book-a-holic. I love the sound of a page turned, the smell of fresh ink, the feel of a cover (soft or hard), fiction, non-fiction, self-help, history, biographical, coffee-table pictures, religious, non-religious....never mind. I'm addicted to books and I don't want out."

As a pastor and Christian I'm supposed to say that of all my books, I love the Bible the most. Well, (wait for it)... I do. I've worn out more than a few. My current Bible buddy is 13 years old, weighs 5 pounds, and doubles as a portable file cabinet. I dread the day when I'll need to replace it...the margins are loaded with my scribbles, arrows, and page numbers (so I can cheat when I tell people to turn to some obscure passage and I'm there first.. yes, I am that vain). 

With that said, let's be clear about a few things too many Church folks rarely talk about, much less, admit: the Bible is not the Truth that will make you free, it is not The Word, and Bibles will not speak to your innermost secret self. Those distinctions are reserved for Jesus Christ alone. 

Just to make it clearer where I am coming from, I know that Jesus will use the Bible as a bridge for those intimacies. And, I know I have heard Him whisper from the Psalms (as He did today from Psalm 38) and shout from Revelation. But God gave Jesus to be The Word (John 1) so we could hold Him, listen to Him, fuss with Him when we disagree (good luck with that), and dance with Him when His Truth makes us free. 

"Only Jesus is perfect theology" (Bill Johnson). Jesus Hermeneutics (how to interpret the Bible) means that I'll need Him as my tour guide through every Levitical rule and all the gory weirdness of stories you shouldn't read to your children before bedtime. As a matter of fact, Jesus told His disciples that when the Holy Spirit came, He would make Truth an internal epiphany for our thirsty souls. How? By revealing more of Jesus.

The Bible has created some monsters. Unfortunately some of these beasts have the wherewith-all to purchase TV air time for the purpose scaring the pants off unsuspecting viewers. Often their scare tactics are followed with purchase options for curing the terror they've caused; with everything from survival gear and food to more books to insure we understand how much of the population will be destroyed when Jesus shows up again not looking AT ALL like the Jesus who came the first time, healing and restoring the needy. 

But the Bible as revealed in The Word, Jesus Christ, has created some magnificent beauties as well. St. Francis of Assisi, Mother Teresa, Pope Francis, Bill Johnson, Heidi Baker, just to name a few. The  old hymn "Break Thou the Bread of Life" says, "Beyond the sacred page I seek Thee, Lord". So keep reading books. PLEASE! Read the Bible, 7 chapters a day, and in a year you'll have completed it. Just go beyond, transcend, and elevate toward a renewal of spirit with a reading partner Who loves to look back at you from the page. There is no better translation than Jesus, and no finer vista than what He will reveal.