Recently, Nicholas Carr wrote a book entitled "The Shallows." He notes that in former years when students would read a book, they would be forced to go through the book and grapple with what the author says. In recent years, this has changed as old and young simply "Google it" or "go to Wikipedia." These are wonderful advances and make our lives so much easier and in a sense freer. However, there is a trade off to this kind of thinking. Citing a recent study, Carr says this can be seen by watching people's reading habits. They don't read left to right or top to down, but scan the pages looking for the relevant information.
Now before we get full of ourselves and think about how silly this younger generation is, we should ask where they picked this kind of thing up? Yes, the internet is to blame partially. But many of them picked it up in church. How many of us understand that 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 is about the church and not a couple getting married or that Jeremiah 29:11 (the one that says God knows the plans He has for us) would not see its fulfillment for decades! There is nothing wrong with quotes, but just as a good book is more than just a series of good quotes; how much more is our Bible just a collection of verses?
A few years ago I had the privilege to hear a Gospel recording artist give a wonderful talk about writing praise music. She asked a group of aspiring composers if they had read the Psalms in the past year. She said all the hands shot up. "Good," she replied, "How many of you have read First and Second Samuel this year?" About three hands went up and then she turned on them. "How dare you take from the Psalms without knowing the pain and joy David was going through?"
No one is arguing that we abandon quotes of Scripture. Luther himself called John 3:16, "the Gospel in a Nutshell." But we are given a book God wrote. Reading the Bible is like reading the letter from someone you love. My mother enjoys talking to me on the phone and loves it when I come to visit. But each year she also loves to get a Mother's Day Card or Birthday Card. It isn't just what I say, but the fact that I demonstrated how I care by giving myself and my resources.
The same is true when we pick up the Bible. It isn't just God's thoughts, hopes, and desires for people. He gave up a resource beyond our imaginations and placed it in Scripture. He gave us His relationship. The Bible may drag at times or cause us to be rubbed the wrong way a bit. But this Book is God's letter and reading our favorite verses in the context of the message God is trying to say to us, is the best thing we can do.
No matter what advances we make as people and how easy it is to skip to our favorite parts, the Bible let's us know what the Letter-Writer wants us to know about us and more importantly Him.
