Last night we sat around as a group (twelve trekers and the Mark Centre Intern, Elli) and we read the entire book of Mark. One person would read a chapter and then another… what a beautiful way to dive deep into scripture. So often we forget that the Bible is meant to be a story, a letter, a whole piece of literature rather that something to be dissected chapter by chapter and verse by verse.
There is something so beautiful about looking at scripture the way it was meant to be read. It’s funny that we think we can just pick a chapter or a section, read that, and then go on to something else. I don’t know anyone who starts a book in the middle and then doesn’t read more than a page or two before skipping to another section. I suppose if we all made it a habit to read more books in such a confusing way then we would all be finishing a lot fewer books. Maybe there’s a correlation to why I know I don’t pick up my bible enough. If I’m not looking at is as a whole piece of literature then I’m not seeing it for what it is. If I’m dissecting something with a pseudo regard to context then I’m clearly doing a great injustice to something that is intended to be part of a greater picture.
2 comments:
oh boy. narrative is one of my very favorite words when thinking about what the bible is.
not a book of rules, or even a truly historical document. these writers were creative, poetic - how would they feel if we discounted their literary technique and when straight to the literal? : )
good to see you blogging with confidence!
Amen. A friend of mine was telling me that she took an class that required her to read through the Old Testament in chronological order, and she said the process was huge in helping her understand the context of each story and the nature of God all at the same time. It seems like we're so busy looking for the tidbits that we can memorize and fit into our lives that we miss (or don't look for) the beauty of the big picture.
By the way, this is Sara, and I'm happy that you have a blog!
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