At one point when I was studying to become a pastor, the professor gave an assignment for the class to read through one whole gospel in one sitting prior to the next class. At the time, I was working the overnight switchboard, from 12:00 PM to 5:00 AM. That nice quiet time provided an opportunity to read through my assignment undisturbed. Sure, my eyes may have wanted to disturb that desire, but in the end, I did get through the whole reading assignment before my shift ended and I headed to my room for an hour of sleep before the next round of classes.
What I remember is that it took me, a fast reader, almost two full hours to just sit there and read Mark's gospel account of Jesus. Now, I will admit that I wasn't just reading through it quickly to say that I had. I was actually trying to track what all was happening, and then my mind would touch on some theological point that was made, and I had to get myself back on track. But I do remember that it took far longer than I thought it should.
Why do I share this with you? Well, for a couple of reasons. First, it is an acknowledgement that reading through God's story takes some dedication. Even the shorter sections of God's story may take a lot of time to actually sit and read through. And that's just to read, much less to work to understand what all is going on. So if you have ever tried to take on the challenge of reading through God's story, you likely know that it isn't exactly fast reading to get through it all.
A second reason I share this with you is to give you a bit of hope when it comes to reading God's story. Sure, it's great to read it all together and get a sense of the flow of things. The thing is, though, the Bible is written to inspire faith in God, and especially His work in Jesus. It isn't meant to convey a neat historical account, but rather to demonstrate that God truly does work in history. God did things that took place at a particular time. It is good for us to know how that story flows, but the real point of reading is to believe in what God has done and how He will continue to hold true to His promises.
So yesterday I challenged you to read through Psalm 100. That one is not very long. Today's challenge will be for a bit longer of a section, though still in the Psalms. It's Psalm 78. This Psalm is a summary of some of the time around Moses and God freeing His people from Egypt. Yes, it should take a little bit longer than the few verses of Psalm 100, but in some respects, we have to start seeing what we can handle as we engage God's story. So today will take perhaps 5-10 minutes, depending on how fast you read. It helps you get into the story a bit more.
The reality is, no one will be able to read the whole account of God's story in one sitting. Just as Rome wasn't built in a day, you simply cannot read the Bible in one sitting, or just a few hours. It will take dedicated effort. And our small steps now are to help us develop the habits toward that effort.
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