As Christians, there are many things that we fall short of: praying for others, tithing to the Lord, loving others as Christ loves us, and the list goes on and on. The shortfall I want to mention in this article is reading the Bible. Now, there are some of us that are quite faithful in reading Scripture, but there are probably just as many who are lacking in this area.
While there are many reasons (and even more excuses) as to why some don’t read the Bible, one I have heard a lot over the years is because the Bible seems to contradict itself. For instance:
- War or Peace? – Exodus 15:3: “The Lord is a man of war: the Lord is His name.” Romans 15:33: “Now the God of peace be with you all. Amen.”
- Who Was at the Empty Tomb? – Matthew 28:1: “In the end of the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the tomb.” Mark 16:1: “And when the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint Him.” John 20:1: “Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb.”
- What Happens to the Righteous? – Psalm 92:12: “The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree.” Isaiah 57:1: “The righteous perish, and no one takes it to heart.”
Like the reasons and excuses, biblical contradictions can also seem numerous. However, that shouldn’t keep us from reading the Word of God frequently. Sonya Downing writes, “The whole point of reading the Bible is to grow closer to God and learn to live and love like Christ did. Unfortunately, many Christians see Bible-reading as an item on their to-do list – something to do on Sundays after church and forget about Monday through Saturday. This mentality is unhealthy because it portrays God as a cosmic CEO who will fire you for skipping church. And the longer you think like this, the more likely you are to feel distant from God and the less likely you are to put effort into maintaining your relationship with Him.”
God’s Best…Steven