Don't Just Read It......

 There are certain events, small in themselves, that make such a difference in our lives that they can be said to alter everything afterwards.  One of those "small" events happened to me shortly after I had begun to read the Bible for the first time ever.  I happened to read an article wherein the writer mentioned that she drew a small flower in the margin of her Bible whenever a verse especially moved her, or next to something she wanted to remember.  

At the time, I was reading the Living Bible, a very readable translation, and her idea appealed to me.  I still remember (since 1977) the verse I selected for my very first drawing:  Isaiah 12:3 -- With joy you will draw water from the springs of salvation.  I just loved that verse; to me it held a promise and a hope.  I knew it was true from that moment!   Imagine my delight as I worked my way through the entire Bible finding correlative statements relating to the images of water and blessing.  Later, when I began to study the Bible (as opposed to simple reading it), I discovered that the Hebrew words for "spring of water" and for "blessing" sounded alike. [berakah/ berekah].

And then....and then....when I got to the encounter of Jesus with the woman at the well (John 4), and read the words, The water I will give you will be a spring of living water.....all the previous references to water and blessing rushed into my understanding as well.

We cannot just "read" the Bible as a textbook; one way or another, it has to become our own book.  It has to become a living and powerful word for us.  My flower images went away quickly, as I realized what my pages would look like with all those drawings in the margins.  However, I did start underlining verses that I wanted to remember --- and eventually, I made marginal notes about people I was praying for and for whom I was applying those promises.  Those dates and notes are now precious to me.

In the past, we talked about family bibles handed down from one generation to the next.  I think a real family bible is one where names are entered and prayers are recorded, so to speak.  "The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us."  If the Word does not take on our flesh, and if our flesh does not take on the Word of God, all our reading is in vain!