Why Read the Bible?

Why do we read the bible? The short answer is that we know the Character of God. The scriptures are about him and who he is. I was watching a tv show, Criminal Minds. You’ve probably seen it. I love this show, I’ve seen almost every episode till they stop showing it on Netflix. I even heard they were bringing it back.

Anyway, in the show, Gideon (a lead agent in the FBI) was interviewing a terrorist and he made the terrorist feel more comfortable rather than uncomfortable. And because this happened it was going to be more difficult to read his body language. Emily (an agent) turned to Spencer (Gideons protege) and said “we don’t have much time, aren’t you worried? And Spencer replied “I’ve known Gideon long enough that I trust him.” Wow, what a powerful statement and one I hope we can say about Jesus. Our knowledge of who God is and our understanding of his character and what he’s done should motivate in us a trust that when things seem kind of odd in our life, or situations are working out as we planned them to be, we still know eventually that things will be okay. Why? Because we know God well enough (the one who is in control of all situations) we trust him in what's going on. But how do we know him and ultimately trust him? That's why we read the scriptures. Of course our life experiences display his goodness, faithfulness, and love, but the scriptures are how he specifically reveals himself and can be certain of how he works, how he loves, and what his promises are for us (2 Peter 1:19-21). So again, why do we read the bible? Because the bible reveals who Jesus is and the more we know Jesus the more we trust him!