Struggles: Reading the Bible 1

It’s no surprise that my first post is a struggle. The reason for “1” being in the title is because I already know I’m going to struggle with it again in the not too distant future. Because no matter how exciting I find the Bible and how many promises, truths, lessons and challenges I know will permeate my thoughts in reading it there will always be something trying to get in the way. Yet with this struggle comes a lesson that has helped me begin to realise just how important it is to overcome.

So since Easter I’ve managed to creep my way through the first five books of the New Testament. Better than most months but I’ve become ruled by the need to progress as fast as I can. Much of what I’ve read I can’t fully remember, and it feels that my reason for reading isn’t the pursuit of God but simply the pursuit of finishing the Bible. Can I overcome this before I get from cover to cover? Or will I have to get to the end so that I may start from the beginning properly; with my heart in its right place? I don’t just want to read is as a manual or as history but as stories of friends I will one day meet and passions that reflect the greatness of a God of Love. I want it to grip me, so that the smell of its leather is imprinted onto my hands, yet I still find more time for idle chats and computer games.