Are you like me? Sometimes I read a passage of scripture and then close the book. When I come back later and open it back up, I can’t remember where I left off and what it was that I read. After all, I might have read that chapter more than 20 times in my life and heard the same passage taught in Sunday school and preached many more times as well. Whatever passage it was, it was so common to me that I forgot even reading it. But then I think back to the first time…
The first time I dedicated time to read the Bible was when I was in the second grade. My family was watching The Ten Commandments on TV, starring Charleton Hesston, and I wanted to read the book. So, after the episode was done, I got out the Bible and turned to Exodus and began reading about Israel in Egypt. And what a fascinating experience it was to read God’s real word for the first time!
The first time I experienced John 3:16 was while watching a college football game on TV when I was about 12 years old. It was a group of crazy college boys with red paint on their breasts, spelling out “J O H N 3 : 1 6.” I wondered, “what does that mean?” And what a fascinating experience it was to later find out when I read, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life,” for the first time!
The first time I studied the Bible was when I was struggling with a relationship with God. I went to church and knew some things about God, but I didn’t know God and I didn’t know for sure what would happen to me if I were to die. In the midst of this struggle, I remember coming across 1 John 5:13, “These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God.” I never forgot how true those words were when God led me to understand the assurance of a saving relationship with Him through Jesus Christ for the first time.
So, next time you sit down in your prayer place to read the word of God, take a few moments before you begin. Reconnect with God and devote your time in His word to Him. Ask God to give you grace to appreciate and even to fascinate about what you are about to read, as though it will be your first time.
“As newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby.” 1 Peter 2:2