You Ought to Read the Bible Sometime.
by Pastor John E. Dubler
www.johndubler.com
Until I met the author, that statement ("You ought to read the Bible sometime,") almost exactly reflected my feelings about the greatest book in the world. I wanted to take time to read it simply because I thought one should have an understanding of the Bible to have a well-rounded education.
Now, I detect a shift in our academic institutions. No longer should we read the Bible in order to have a well-rounded education, but (as their assertion goes) reading the Bible is unnecessary, and may even distort one's view of life. In fact, may university professors today are almost entirely unaware of the central message of the Scriptures, and are nearly illiterate when it comes to all but the most rudimentary Biblical allusions.
Anyway, I tried reading the Bible. It was exciting in parts, especially in the Old Testament, but when I finally reached the New Testament, I gave up. Except for the Gospels (the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John), the message was incomprehensible to me. I finally gave up trying to "get it" and put the book on a shelf.
In 1972, military orders arrived sending me to Vietnam. I would be stationed in Thailand, flying F-4D's on Combat Air Patrol missions over North Vietnam. I immediately began packing. We were allowed about 600 pounds of unaccompanied baggage as I recall, but I decided to follow the accepted norm and send a single footlocker full of what I thought I might need while on a one-year remote Vietnam tour.
I packed pictures of my 26 year-old wife and my one year old son, my jogging shoes and sweats, some civilian clothes, some notebooks and so on. I was surprised at how quickly the foot locker filled up. I decided to try and fit one more object in the box. It was my Bible, which I had already given up trying to understand. But when I added that book, the lid would not close. Without much thought I put the book back on the shelf.
By September of that same year I had a direct meeting with the author. I was attending an officer's Bible study, seeking to resolve in my mind an uncomfortable feeling which was growing inside me. That feeling was simply this, "If I die today, I will be separated from the Lord forever." I do not recall anyone ever telling me this, yet I knew it to be somehow true. At the Bible study I learned that unless we accept the Lordship of Jesus, we will be separated from God's presence when we die. The only way to live with God in heaven is to become a follower of Jesus. How could they so boldly proclaim this? After all, weren't there dozens of ways to enter heaven? Wasn't everyone welcome if they had good intentions?
They told me that there was only one way. It was the way of the cross. It was the way which Jesus proclaimed when He said, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me" (John 14:6). I was having trouble accepting the idea that it could be so narrow a path which leads to everlasting life. I decided not to take their word for it. Not knowing quite what to do, I arrived at a decision. I would simply ask God for myself. I believed that He existed, after all. I would just ask Him.
For the first time I can recall, I prayed a totally honest prayer. It was something like this, "God if Jesus really is alive, if He is your Son and the only way to be saved . . . If what these guys are saying is true, would you just tell me?"
I was not ready for what happened next. It seemed I was transported instantly into His presence. I know I did not leave terra firma, but in my mind, I was in the very throne room of God. Never had I ever had such an experience, nor read about it, nor heard about it. I do not claim to have seen God. But this I know: I was in His very presence. Nothing else mattered to me, nothing else crowded in. Time seemed to stop. It was so completely awesome that I haven't the vocabulary to describe it. I did not speak a word. But in my heart He spoke to me: "What these men tell you is Truth. Follow me."
After this experience I did not need to be told, "You should read the Bible sometime." I could not wait to read the Bible. My only regret was that I had not brought my Bible with me to Thailand. That only delayed me a day or so, however, as I was given a paper-back Bible by the base chaplain. I read it every chance I got. It was filled with answers and made perfect sense. I am entirely convinced that you cannot make good sense of the Bible unless you believe in our Lord.
One time I heard of a college professor that ridiculed a student for believing Scripture. "How can you understand it?" said he. "Sir," the student responded, "the Bible is God's love letter to Christians. If you can't understand it, well, that's what you get for reading someone else's mail."
Very soon I came cross the passage in 1 Corinthians the second chapter: "But the man who isn't a Christian can't understand and can't accept these thoughts from God, which the Holy Spirit teaches us. They sound foolish to him because only those who have the Holy Spirit within them can understand what the Holy Spirit means. Others just can't take it in. But the spiritual man has insight into everything, and that bothers and baffles the man of the world, who can't understand him at all"(TLB).
So, with others I say, "You should read the Bible." But first I say, "You should become a believer, otherwise you will surely miss the main point." It will certainly "bother and baffle" you until you give it up and put it back on the shelf. The only answer, then, is to meet the author. Once you meet Him, the Bible will be your most important book.
Isaiah 40:8 "The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever." (NAS)
Hebrews 4:12 "For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart." (NAS)