Looking for eternal life in all the wrong places

The Bible is not the source of eternal life—Christ himself is

How could we miss this?

Why are we spending so much time debating what this or that passage truly means?

What has blinded us from seeing what—or, rather, who—the Bible points to?

So many churches have split and so many denominations been formed over tiny disagreements about particular sections of the Bible.

And yet.

And yet, the Bible itself, quoting Jesus himself, has this to say:

You pore over the Scriptures because you think you have eternal life in them, yet they testify about Me. And you are not willing to come to Me so that you may have life. (John 5:39–40, HCSB)

The Bible is not the point; Christ is.

The Scriptures are not God.

Too many of us have, even if inadvertently, come to worship Scripture instead of Christ himself.

It’s like we we’ve seen a signpost saying Paris 100 kilometres, got excited about the mention of Paris, and stopped to hang around the sign as if it was Paris itself.

The Bible is a signpost.

It is a collection of stories inspired by the activity of God among his people.

But the Bible is not God.

It shows us how previous generations have connected with God.

It reveals insights about God and our forefathers understanding of God.

But we won’t find eternal life in the Bible.

We will only find eternal life by following the signs.

By walking the path.

By seeking and searching.

An ongoing, living encounter with Christ is what we need.

Now, the Scriptures can be wonderfully helpful in helping us figure out how to encounter Christ for ourselves. But knowing the Bible is no substitute for knowing Christ.

We learn from the Scriptures, and we learn from the traditions of those who have gone before us, but our own experience is vital. Without that, there is no eternal life. It is just religious knowledge and information.

Are we willing to lay aside our bibliolatry and encounter Christ himself?

Are we able to stop worrying about all manner of debates about what the Bible is or isn’t and simply follow the signs to an encounter with the source of all life?

God doesn’t want us to know about him; he wants us to know him.