I love to read. A lot. So when some of the leaders at our church asked those of us in Student Ministries to read the book The Relational Word by Josh McDowell I took it pretty much in stride as just another book I was going to be reading.
You see, I tend to read books just for the sake of reading. And I tend to absorb facts just for the sake of knowledge. And that's exactly the mindset I had when I started to read.
But somewhere along the way, my attitude and purpose for reading changed. I began to identify with this book like I never thought I would. And it shifted how I view reading in general.
The main premise of the book is that in order to raise or minister to teenagers, you have to approach them in a relational way. That rules and regulations don't work. Well, that's a no brainer. Anyone who has ever talked to a teen knows that.
The book lays out 4 areas that teens feel specific needs, and then shows how Christ fulfills those needs and how we can be examples of Christ in those areas. 1. God understands us intimately. 2. God accepts us unconditionally. 3. God loves us sacrificially. 4. God relates to us continually.
As you read those, maybe you have the same reaction I did initially: I already know those things. I've known them for years. What's the big deal? I can just read this and skim for these factoids that I already know, and maybe get a new detail to support my viewpoint.
The thing that changed my perspective was actually putting myself in the place of the "teen" that the book talks about. Remembering what it was like when I was a teen. Looking at my current circumstances in light of these truths that I saw as so "common". I don't know what made me do it, other than the prompting of the Holy Spirit. For real. I was at a place of desperately seeking God, but feeling like I was getting no where.
A Big Shift
There's a big difference between just gaining knowledge and gaining understanding. I have known these truths practically my whole life. I've been reading the Bible and praying and worshiping for almost as long as I can remember.
But there are still things I don't understand. I mean really, in my heart of hearts. I just don't get them. I may know them, but they aren't real in my life, or just not as real as they could be.
A Continuing Journey
I've been doing a study that includes following the life of Christ through the book of Luke. Now, I've read the book of Luke (and the other gospels) throughout my life. But I'm seeing them in a new and fresh way. Especially in seeing Jesus and who he was on the Earth. His humanity and His divinity. And it is coming back to reading it in a different way.
So many times when we read the Bible it is easy to see it as familiar. To feel like we're just checking off a spiritual to do list. But it is so much more! It can be so real. So impacting. And there is always something new to apply in our lives, even in the familiar stories. We just have to look at them with new eyes, and ask the Holy Spirit to speak to us through them. He will give us so much more than just a check mark for accomplishing another day of reading. He truly reveals new and wonderful truths each and every time we approach the Word with open minds and hearts.
I'll probably always love reading for the sake of knowledge. For the sake of facts. But I pray that I will allow the Holy Spirit to speak to me. That I'll allow myself to identify with the words on the page, not just remember them as details of something I read. That the words would be transforming, and further my walk with God, not just my knowledge of Him.
