What is the Bible all About?

Last week my blog post explored the "Why" of the Bible---as in, "Why should I read this massive book? Why should I read it everyday?"---so this week I thought I'd do my due diligence and  explore the "What" of the Bible (to be closely followed with the "How"). If you've grown up reading the Bible, you should be fairly familiar with what the Bible is all about and how it's structured, but it can be a very intimidating and confusing tome to someone who's cracking it open for the first time (or even if you're cracking it open for the first time in a while!)

Some of the "what" questions that came to mind for me were:
-What's the Bible about? What's it's overall "theme"? (That's the English teacher in me coming out...)
-What's in the Bible? What topics does it cover?
-What's the Bible's purpose?

Bible 101:


If the Bible is something you've only really heard of and never read yourself, let me give you a quick overview. The Bible is believed to be the inspired Word of God. That is, God didn't write it with his own hand and leave it for people to discover, but he did tell his followers what to write and record. These records were then compiled about 1700 years ago into the single, large volume we know today.

Many, many people authored the Bible and it was written over the course of thousands of years. It is split up into an "Old Testament" (pre-Christ) and a "New Testament" (post-Christ). I don't claim to be a Bible historian or scholar by any means, so, please, I would encourage you to do further research and get information from people much smarter than I am on this topic!

Theme of the Bible: 


This was a difficult one for me to pin down to a single cohesive statement. I've heard the Bible referred to as a "love letter", as instructions, as rules, and as prophesies. I guess all of the above are correct, but I would have to say that I would say the theme of the Bible is "Redemption: A Work in Progress".

I see the Bible as a book full of screw-ups--- "Stumblers" like me. I also see the Bible as a book chronicling God's dealings with these screw-ups. While, on an individual basis, He chose to deal with people in very different ways---everything from utter destruction to complete transformation--on a whole the Bible shows the over-arching story-line to be one of redemption. God is trying to get his children, his creation, to stop being stupid and to return to Him. He is trying to repair the brokenness of our souls.

Topics of the Bible:


Wow... there are entire books written on this subject, so I don't think I can address all the topics here! The Bible goes in-depth on many topics, touches on countless others, and is frustratingly silent on some. I think the key here is to remember to not treat the Bible as a "FAQ" to life's big questions, or as an index of solutions to our problems. The Bible has incredible wisdom, inspiration and, yes, answers. However, the Bible also requires careful reading and re-reading. You can't just do a topic search and read a single verse that pops up. Every verse has a chapter, every chapter a book, every book a Testament---context is everything. Understanding the whole is just as important as finding a few poignant parts.

Purpose of the Bible:


I believe the Bible's purpose is multifaceted. I believe it is meant to give us context and purpose (i.e. How did we get here? What's life all about? What happens after death?). I believe it's meant to be a starting point in our relationship with God, as it establishes who He is, what He's done, and how we are to know Him. I believe it is meant to give us answers, as it acts as a spiritual "litmus test", helping us know right from wrong.

However, as many answers as the Bible gives us, I think God left it a little murky and mysterious on purpose. He wants us to seek him and to ask him questions. He wants us to go to him for answers too. This is why I believe people find continued inspiration and new perspectives when they read the Bible over and over. I believe God uses the simple passages of the Bible as an introduction to him, but once we draw close to him, he uses his Spirit to help us understand the Bible on a deeper level.

It's kind of like Facebook, in a way. You can Facebook "stalk" someone to a certain extent without being their "friend". Often you'll get basic information about them---their hometown, their interests, their profile picture--but that's about it. However, you learn more about them when you seek a relationship with them. Once you "friend" them, a whole plethora of information becomes open to you---other photo albums, their status reports, their links. However, there are always some things their Facebook page never tells you. You need to seek a true relationship with them and be continually cultivating it. Spend time with them. Do things with them. Once this happens, their Facebook page takes on new meaning---suddenly, you understand the context of those photos! You share in the "inside jokes" that you missed before! Your life is intertwined with theirs. There is deeper meaning to the information that was only superficially interesting to you before you actually got to know them.

While it's a simplified analogy, the Bible is God's "Facebook". The overall "theme" (his "About Me" section) is that God wants to fix the world. The topics (like wall posts) are numerous and various, but by no means comprehensive. The purpose is to enable you to get to know Him on your terms. Are you going to be forever a "Facebook Stalker" --only getting to know the basics about Him? Or are you going to dig in deeper? Are you going to take the time to get to know the Person behind the "statuses"?

It's our choice.

Why Read the Bible EVERY day?

Something I've struggled to do a lot over the years (and probably a large reason why I'm "Stumbling" so often) is  committing to read the Bible EVERY day. There have been times in my life, some extended periods, where I would read the Bible everyday. I would get my hands on some awesome new devotional... or I would resolve to read through a book or two... or I would try to read the whole Bible. But, more often than not, my Bible remains closed.

Photo credit: http://christcontrolled.wordpress.com

I'm not exactly sure why I find reading the Bible so difficult and/or tiresome at times... perhaps that's the Devil's plan---to convince me that it's too hard to read the Bible, or perhaps too time-consuming. Whatever the case, some days I look at my Bible and heave a big sigh and give up before I even start. I'll leave it to gather dust, while I opt to Facebook or Pinterest instead (how did those become verbs in my life? I should resolve to make "Bible" a verb instead!).

I'll still pray; I'll talk to God. But then I wonder why He seems so far away. I'll cry out in sorrow or frustration and feel so alone, feel like He's not there. As a teacher, I should know better! It's so frustrating when my students ask silly questions that I've already answered, or if they ask what they're supposed to be doing when I've written the directions on the paper in front of them! I'll often say, in exasperation, "I just answered that!" or "Read the directions!"


I can imagine God must get similar feelings of frustration and exasperation with me! How often do I ask Him silly questions or for directions, when the answers to my questions are written down right in front of me? Perhaps He, like a teacher, is choosing not to answer me until I've taken the time to read the directions first.

The Bible is God's instruction manual. His directions. His Word. So, is it necessary to read the Bible? Absolutely. Should I be reading it everyday? If I have questions, I should always start there; otherwise I can expect God to be silent in my prayers while pointing expectantly at His Directions. Like any good teacher, God is more than willing to help His children, His students; however, he does expect us to read the directions first. He's not going to do our "homework" for us, but he will help us if we've already read the directions and are struggling to understand. That is how learning happens. That is how true growth happens.