Reading scripture...

 As soon as you read a word on a page, you begin interpreting it. Interpretation can be thought of as a mental exercise of putting communication messages you receive (via visual, audio, or other sensory receptors) into thought forms and recognizable patterns in your own mind. 

As an example of this, try reading this very familiar English phrase:

"The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog". It's a fairly simple sentence for your mind to reading, organize, and then put into recognizable patterns. You know what a fox is, you have a concept for what a lazy dog is, and you may have experience in the past with this exact phrase that contextualizes any meaning or lessons to be learned from it. 

Try again, with this Russian phrase:

"Быстрая, коричневая лиса, перепрыгнула через ленивого пса". 

and again with this Hindi phrase:

"फुर्तीली भूरी लोमड़ी आलसी कुत्ते के उपर से कूद गई"

Unless you know Russian, or Hindi these two phrases are nearly unrecognizable. You can use tools or resources to discover the meaning of these phrases. To understand something, you first must be able to process the received message. A message sent in a language other than one you understand is unhelpful. This is one of the reasons so many of the reformers from Europe in the 1500s and 1600s were passionate about translating the scriptures into the native tongue of the common people. If a person cannot read what is written, then they cannot hope to understand what is being communicated. 

Now consider the following quotes from a summary report on the American Bible Society survey conducted in January of 2020:

When asked how often the participant personally reads the Bible on their own — that is, when not attending church services — only 9% said that they read it every day, the lowest figure in the 10 years that the American Bible Society has been conducting the survey.

“From 2011 through 2019, the percentage of respondents who claim to read the Bible daily has remained fairly steady, averaging 13.7%,” the report outlines. “A decrease of 5% in a single year is unprecedented.”

3% said they read the Bible four or more times a week, 10% said they read it “several times,” and 9% said they read it once a week.

9% of those surveyed said they read the Bible once a month and 8% said they read it three or four times a year. 11% said they read the Scriptures once a year and 34% said they never read the Bible.

I share these quotes as a challenge, a reminder, and as a foundational part of our faith as Christian. 

If a reasonable person were to desire to pick up bicycling as a hobby, they might start by doing a little research. This person may read about different patterns of weather to watch out for, want to shop different choices for accessories, and maybe even connect with other local bicycling enthusiasts who may be able to teach from experience. 

For anyone who claims Christ as their Lord and Savior, we must follow the example of our hypothetical bicyclist. We must take up and read the scriptures, keep our eyes peeled for helpful accessories, and connect with those who are apt and able to teach us regarding the Word of God. If we do not read the Word of God, how can we understand his revealed desires? How can we further know God's character? How can an inquiring mind be taught or a struggling sinner saved? 

To begin to interpret God's Word, we first must pick it up and read from God's Word.