Written by “I’m having trouble reading my Bible.” A phrase that I, and likely many others, have used countless times.
It’s a phrase that has become so common – but why? To think of the original Church growing in Acts and seeing the people gather into homes & risking their lives against their persecutors, just to hear the words of Paul, or Peter, or James, read aloud to them all…and to compare that to our struggle to open the Bible I have complete access to at any moment (thank you smartphone).
Where have we gone wrong?
In a world of commodities, we’ve added Jesus to the shelf of things we want. Something we can have. But somewhere along the lines we’ve taken Him off the shelf of things we need.
We know in our heads we need Jesus, but in our hearts we push Him to the sidelines.
We often compare our spiritual hunger to our physical hunger (c.f. John 6:35). The difference, though, is that many of us need to be reminded to read our Bible but have no need of a reminder to eat – and certainly have no trouble doing so. But those who do find consuming food as a struggle would be classified by many as having a disorder.
If you, or I, or anyone else in the Body find themselves using the phrase, “I’m having trouble reading my Bible” (“I’m having trouble eating”), the root of the problem is much deeper than many would care to admit.
It’s akin to a spiritual disorder – a disorder that we must take seriously.
Just as a physical eatings disorder must be taken seriously, swifty, and straight to the point, that same must be said of our “spiritual eating disorder”. Don’t go about it alone. Find help from pastors, parents, and friends. Actively put in place systems of accountability. Do whatever you need to do – but take it seriously.
If we don’t treat Jesus as something that’s necessary, we’ll treat Him like He’s just something else we can have if/when we want Him.
Nexus Student Ministries 