Today, via your imagination, I’d like to bring you to my house for a little Williams family game time. Now, brace yourself: board games around here are an event. They are serious business and insanely silly, all at once. You better come to the table—or floor, or grass, or treehouse—with your game face on because you never know what version of game time you’re going to get.
My favorite (slash least favorite) part of game time is what I’ll refer to as “The Rule Situation.” Sometimes The Rule Situation is pretty straight-forward—we read the rules of the game, we follow the rules of the game. Other times, it’s a tad more complicated. This is especially true when one of our four children decides to make his or her own rules for the rest of us gamers to follow.
We grownups like to think we have a better understanding of how rules work since we live in the real world and all. Only official rules count. You can’t make up random rules and expect folks to follow. (Well, you can, but your made-up rules don’t change what is true.)
But isn’t that how we sometimes approach the Bible? We’re given the inspired and sufficient Word of God, and we are invited to read it by and with the Author Himself. Yet instead of running to accept the invitation, we trip over our own made-up rules, citing all the reasons we think we don’t deserve to go.
If you are a follower of Jesus—someone who has repented and trusts Jesus Christ as her Savior—here is a sampling of who you are according to God’s Word:
I am a child of God (John 1:12).
I am clothed with the righteousness of Jesus (Isaiah 61:10).
I am free (Galatians 5:1).
I am not condemned (Romans 8:1).
I am a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17).
I am loved (Ephesians 5:2).
Now, think of some of the false rules you make up for yourself as qualifications for approaching God’s Word. Here are two of mine:
I must always have the desire to open my Bible.
I need to understand everything I read in Scripture.
When I add made-up qualifications for Bible-reading to the truths God has spoken, I end up with a distorted, false gospel—a gospel of works, not grace. I am not loved because of how many pages of the Bible I’ve read or because of how much of it I understand. I am loved because Jesus, in His mercy, loves me.
Read Hebrews 4:14–16. What adjective does the author of Hebrews use to describe the way in which we should approach God?
Friends, Jesus not only knows our weakness, He understands it. His perfection is both the justification and the mandate for our boldness before God’s throne. May we, as daughters and sons of the King, approach the Bible with confidence today—not because of who we are, but because of who we are in Him.
I have tried to read the Bible in the past and sometimes, I feel lost. I don’t understand what I’m reading and that makes me think that I shouldn’t read it. Reading this definitely helps with that feeling. It makes me realize that the importance of reading the Bible is spending time with God.
Reading this gave me so much comfort. I can get so nervous to read and discuss the Bible because I don’t always understand all of the verses or the stories told in the Bible. This reminds me that it’s okay to not understand, but to keep steadfast in growing my relationship with God through reading the Bible- and being confident to discuss it with others if I don’t understand
This is great! I have always said it’s so hard for met to get in the word because I just don’t understand it well so what’s the point. But this is such a great reminder that I should just be confident in it because the lord will show me what I need to understand:)
We can approach Him with CONFIDENCE. There is no qualifications we have to meet. No standard we have to live up to. We are fully free and able to approach Him.
Thank you for the reminder to just KEEP READING the Bible! No matter how I feel or what a don’t understand, keep reading it, and God will teach me and comfort me where I’m at.
Doing a study on psalms 23 (don’t give the enemy a seat at your table) and this reading was perfect. He prepares a seat at the table for us. I’m the midst of our trials and battlefield. In the midst of our enemies. And he is waiting there as someone who knows and understands what we are facing because he faced it too!
Not because of who we are, but because of who He is! ❤️
This really spoke to me. I just went months of not reading his word. I don’t have an excuse. I have the worst motivation, and I’ve been stuck in bed the past few months. I do pray multiple times a day, everyday, but I always feel like I’m not worthy of His love and grace because I’m not good at reading His word. That’s why I came back to read this before starting the next community read. This really opened my eyes. Thank you!!