In heaven, there are no books or manuals. The Spirit of God in us teaches us to read Jesus, the inexhaustible Source of Wisdom and Truth.
Karl Rahner says that at the time of death, when we can no longer read the Bible, we will have to read the word inscribed in our hearts. So the point of reading the Bible now is to do the inscribing. But the inscriptions do not occur just by reading; our lives must at some point intersect with the words and the words with our lives---and this can take place only when the Holy Spirit begins to open the Bible for us.
The Jews knew the Old Testament intimately---but until they knew Jesus, they did not understand it. After His Resurrection, Jesus was able to "open their minds to understand the Scriptures," for now He could operate in the realm of the Spirit. Paul says that "even to this day the same veil remains when the old covenant is read, because only in Christ is it taken away....But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away" (2 Cor. 3:14-16).
So anyone who wishes to read the Bible needs to begin by asking the Holy Spirit to direct and illuminate the reading. It is not necessary, nor even desirable, to open the first page and begin reading; we soon get bogged down and give up. But when the Spirit opens the page that intersects with our lives, we recognize with a shock that He is teaching us---and inscribing our hearts. What a joy that is!
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Yesterday was a strange, beautiful day. My scripture from the HS was Jeremiah 29:11 . . . my promise. For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord. Plans to prosper you . . . plans to give you hope and a future. It was a synchronistic day where fear and love were both heightened, and love won out in the end. There were golden moments, an answered prayer (specific), moments when fear knocked, knocked, knocked, swirled and gained entry for a while, but this morning I looked again at the day and realized that grace had prevailed.
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