I once heard that you can never read the same Bible twice. While the words might be the same, when you next read it again, YOU will have changed. The themes and messages that most stand out to you will have changed and I think that's a really beautiful notion. And it’s a perspective that has helped me remain engaged with God’s word. I know I'm not alone in this sentiment because I frequently hear older folks at church say that something stood out to them this time in a passage that they have read a thousand times before.
While there are many things that we gain from reading God’s word, I've recently experienced a unique joy as I have read stories in the Old Testament that I haven’t read since I was a child. I’ve found that listening to the bible on my commute into Little Rock is a great way to spend time with God and hear enough of the Old Testament’s story in one sitting to better understand how the story flows together. There are so many passages that make my jaw drop and marvel at things that occurred only by the power of God! (I had forgotten that God used a lion and a donkey to fulfill His purposes in 1 Kings!) I have vague memories of learning many of these stories as a child, but to read them as an adult is an entirely new experience filled with wonder and awe. It’s now much easier to process that the people in these stories were in fact real people, not simply characters, and imagine how their lives were between the verses in which they are depicted. I find it easier to be inspired to be like these God followers of old, when we see them as real fallible people.
As I've entered the life chapter of parenthood I read verses like Isaiah 41:13 totally differently. It says "For I am the Lord your God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you" When it describes God as holding our hand, I can't help but picture my 3-year-old daughter desperately clinging to my hand as she navigates her way down our front steps. It illustrates how I should have a complete and childlike dependence on God, an idea I hadn't previously grasped. Because of my recent experience as a mom, I'm able to better understand the tenderness with which God extends his hand to us. How amazing!
As I consider the beauty that life’s experiences lend to reading scripture, I can't help but look forward to reading the bible again and again for the rest of my days!
-Maurisa Hughes
