Google search automatically suggests query ‘read the Bible in a year’. Many christians seem to try read the Bible in a year. But I wonder is it really good to do so. (If you have more fundamental question like ‘why should we read Bible?’, check my previous post please.)
I generally do not recommend read the Bible in a year. Though it’s better than not to read at all, it is not really good approach for us to read the Bible. Like other great books, the Bible give different teaching and touching whenever we read. The Bible is worth lifelong reading. So we don’t have to be in a hurry to finish reading the Bible.
If you follow yearly reading plan (such as M’Cheyne’s), you may focus daily reading goal and progress much and tend to read it too roughly. Some say that “forget yesterday’s plan, just fulfil today’s plan”. It’s pretty wise advice to continue yearly reading plan. But this kind of approach make us to skim over the Bible quickly rather than read and think deeply.
I say once again, rough reading is much better than not reading at all. By the way, yearly reading plan often discourage us from reading actually. Keeping daily plan is always hard job for common people. And we who are living in a modern society are too busy to read the Bible. There are too much to do, read, see, hear and play. It’s too hard for us to read the Bible in a year, and as I mentioned before, we don’t have to do so.
Circumstance about reading the Bible is quite similar with 500 years ago. At that time, people cannot read the Bible because it’s written with Latin common people cannot read. So Martin Luther, who led the reformation, translated the Old testament in German. In these days, it’s so easy to get readable Bible but we’re too busy to read it.
I recommend you lifelong reading rather than yearly reading. Let’s read the Bible everyday! But you don’t have to read much a day. Forget reading plan and progress. Reading just some verses at your daily spare time is okay, if it’s not random verse reading which may cause misunderstanding.
Lifelong Bible reading is a huge goal. But we can start from tiny step like just some verses a day. If you try one verse Bible app, you can experience the small but great habit easily, you can read the Bible easily at anytime and anyplace. It’s useful to read the Bible with foreign language also.
Martin Luther said, Every Christian must grow in the knowledge of Jesus Christ and strengthen his faith more and more. Reading the Bible everyday is the beginning of the eternal fellowship. I hope you walk with lord everyday.
