Reading the Bible

I am an Evangelical Lutheran, and I have been for my entire life. Every week that I went to church I learned more about the Bible and about my religion and my faith increased. I have always wanted to read the Bible but just never got around to doing so until this year. This year, for one of my classes, we were required to read the books of the Bible, and it astounded me how much I had been missing by not reading the Bible to begin with.

Sitting in church on Sundays or even hearing the Bible stories from others like in Sunday school classes is not the same as actually sitting down and reading the Bible. There is so much that you miss when you are just getting snippets of a larger story. It is like reading only certain chapters out of a chapter book. You might miss something; you are especially getting cheated out of the larger picture.

Sometimes missing things isn't that bad, but in this case it is. There are so many powerful stories and messages that the church can't possibly get to so they stick with the same ones. Thus if you don't go and read the Bible for yourself you might know those selective stories very well, but you will be missing out on other important information from God.

The Bible is definitely not the most interesting thing to read, and it is sometimes confusing however it is important that it is read especially if you want to deepen your faith or even understand things a little bit better. I personally have found spots of great enjoyment in the Bible and spots that were tough to get through, but overall it is worth the effort that I put in it. I feel not only closer to God but also that I have a deeper understand of how he works and what he wants.