Sick of What. Give me Who.
I stared at my Bible and thought, I really should read it, but I don’t want to.
Tired of being reminded of all the commands I’d break before bedtime — before breakfast if I’m being honest — I sighed.
How do some Christians live with power and faith that could move mountains — perhaps even literally — and I just live? I know there’s more to this Christian life than existence! What am I missing?
And then a thought struck me.
I bet the answer is in the Bible. Perhaps it’s time to read the whole thing.
I picked up my Bible and prayed, “Show me Yourself, God, on every page. I’m sick of rules to keep in hopes of becoming a better Christian. I just want to see You, Lord. Amen.”
I wanted transformation, not information — the Who of the Bible, not the What.
I was sick of What. Give me Who. Please!
Reading the Bible for Transformation, Not Information
With a flip of the page to Genesis 1:1, I set out on a journey that changed my life.
Each morning I read my Bible with my new mindset of “Show me Who, not What.”
By Genesis 6, God had surprised me.
Hmmmmm. The Bible is actually fun to read when you’re not feeling guilty about what you have or haven’t done, or trying to figure out what you need to do to avoid sinning like Eve—or worse, like Cain.
By Exodus 6, God had hooked me.
I’m seeing Your character traits, God, of faithfulness, grace, and love where I’d missed them before. And I’m seeing a lot more intentionality than I’d expected because I’m also seeing Jesus in every story in amazing ways. This is like a treasure hunt. I can’t wait to see where I find Him tomorrow.
By Deuteronomy 6, God had transformed me.
Wait! This passage feels as if You’re reaching down from heaven into my heart and speaking directly to me, God, but how is this possible? This passage is about Israel and the Promised Land, and yet, as I read it, I’m invaded by a peace that’s escaped me before. I’m seeing You, God, in ways I’d never known possible before, and it’s changing me from the inside out. Wow. I love Your Word, Lord.
I’d loved God’s Word before because all Christians do.
Good ones, at least, right?
But now I LOVED God’s Word. I wanted to hug it and kiss it and never let it go because I’d finally found the Who that I’d missed in all the What.
Information doesn’t lead to true spiritual transformation. Only God does.
A.J. Jacobs, an agnostic Jew, sought to live by every law of the Bible for one year. By the end of the year, the Bible hadn’t transformed him. But he’d only sought to know the law, not the God of the law.
Consumed with the What, he’d missed the Who.
It’s About the Who, Not the What
Right from the beginning of my search for the Christian life worth living, I’d stumbled upon the secret to falling in love with the Bible. It’s about the Who, not the What.
If we approach the Bible as a book of words that, if followed, will give us an abundant life, we’ll miss that abundant life and find bondage instead.
We’ll find bondage to rules, guilt, and shame because we’ll never be able to keep those rules as we know we should.
And we’ll find boredom because along with many exciting stories are a ton of lists and letters, not to mention rules about bodily fluids and other stuff you don’t want to read about.
We may wind up giving up reading the Bible completely, which could eventually lead to our abandoning God altogether.
We might not give up our faith and deny Christ, but we’ll turn our back on Him. And if we turn our back on Him long enough, we’ll want to deny Him so we can drive the guilt of ignoring Him far away from us.
Or . . .
We can simply stop focusing on the What in the Bible and in Christianity and embrace the Who instead. And fall in love with both.
If reading the Bible or being a Christian seems boring or discouraging, start looking for the Who, not the What.
I was sick of the What until I found the Who. Now I love them both!
You will seek Me
and find Me
when you search for Me
with all your heart.
~Jeremiah 29:13
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