I had a serious problem. I had a blind spot and did not know it. I was raised in a Christian home. I accepted Jesus and was baptized when I was 10 years old. I grew up in a small-town Baptist church and was given a great faith foundation and working knowledge of the Bible. I was a good kid and never got into much trouble.
As an adult, I was running the family business, involved in the church, and giving my children the same faith foundation I had been given. In fact, I thought I was doing everything right until just before my 30th birthday. It was then, on a long flight to Hawaii, that I read a book and my life changed forever…for the better!
The book was called Left Behind.What stopped me in my tracks was not the storyline concerning the rapture or really anything related to the end times. What stopped me in my tracks was the fact that the new believers depicted in the story began reading the Bible as if it was food and they had not eaten for years. They consumed it every chance they had. They learned from it and tried to align their lives with it.
I could not help but realize that I had been a Christian for almost 20 years and had never felt that way about the Bible. While I owned multiple copies of the Bible in my home, I only read one in church while following along with the preacher. I did not study it. I did not seek answers in it. I did not try to align my life with it.
While I owned multiple copies of the Bible…I did not study it. I did not seek answers in it. I did not try to align my life with it.
I cannot explain to you how this realization made me feel! I was devastated and ashamed that I had been so blind for so long, but at the same time excited at the possibilities I could see! I was embarrassed at the time I had wasted, but I was energized by the thought of correcting the problem. I had so many ideas! I could not wait to get home and begin studying!
Have you experienced anything like this? Is this your blind spot?
Do you treat the Bible as decoration in your home or your irreplaceable life’s instruction manual?
What, if anything, do you need to change about your view of the Bible?P
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