Almost Finished the Book

I feel like I should throw a party. It's taken roughly six years, but I am almost finished reading the Bible. I bought the "read the Bible in a year" Bible around 2004, and needless to say, I've been sidetracked along the way. Not to jinx myself, but I've made it to "Dec. 26" in the Bible and its not yet Halloween, so I'm pretty confident I should be able to finally get to the last page before the last day this year.

Now that I'm almost at the end of the book, I feel I've finally earned the right to voice my opinon on what can be a very controversial subject.

The Bible is a very thick book. It speaks on many things, and recounts generation after generation of God's people and miracles. It's story after story of God using ordinary and flawed people to do extraordinary things. There is so much history and wisdom and warnings. It guides and instructs. It is filled with all range of human emotion.

Do I believe the Bible is the Word of God? Yes. Do I understand everything it says? No.

But I do understand that every verse needs to be taken in context, and now that I've nearly reached the end of the book, I understand the story as a whole and have a better grasp on verses within their context.

On Facebook this week, a friend posted: Jacob was a cheater, Peter had a temper, David had an affair, Noah got drunk, Jonah ran from God, Paul was a murderer, Gideon was insecure, Miriam was a gossiper, Martha was a worrier, Thomas was a doubter, Sarah was impatient, Elijah was moody, Moses stuttered, Zaccheus was short, Abraham was… old, and Lazarus was dead.... Now, what's YOUR excuse?)

That is one thing that struck me so strongly in reading the Bible. From the beginning of time, mankind has been flawed, and yet God still loves us. David is called "a man after God's own heart" and even he fell to sin, some pretty serious ones at that (lust, adultry, murder). Yet he repented and God forgave him.

I know that we are all sinners and fall short of the Glory of God. All I can do is my best to follow its guidelines in my life. And since there is so much of the Bible, I would be overwhelmed to try to memorize every rule, I'm going to stick with the verses that apply to my life. Like ministering to the sick and broken hearted. To loving my neighbor and helping community. Sharing what I have with others. Clinging loosly to the things of this world.

I am sure to have a hard enough time following those to be concerned with verses that have no direct bearing on my life (ehm, Lev. 18:22).

If you have never read the whole Bible, I highly recommend it. Whether you believe every word or not, there is much you can take out of it to apply to your life. And there really is no other book I know of that is like it.