I was doing it all right. I went to a Christian college, I hung out with Christian people, and I did my best to follow all the rules I learned on Sundays. Yet, all those things didn’t make me grow in my walk with Christ. I stayed stagnate in my faith. When my summer began, God presented me with a huge revelation. While God was constantly pursuing me, I was not constantly pursuing God. Sure, I did all the right things, but I didn’t really grow to know God better. As I began to take time and pursue His presence, I began to realize why I didn’t know the God I claimed I lived for. The truth is, so many Christians like myself, are unwilling to take time to study the Bible.

Now, don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of other reasons why you may not be growing in your faith with God, but the Bible is always the first place to start. Why? The Bible is the very word of God. Yes, you have might have heard that before, so let me reword this for you. The Bible, is God, speaking to you, so that you may know God. Some could say it is also the Christian compass. You read it to guide you morally and spiritually. It teaches you the ways of Jesus, God the Father and the Holy Spirit. Without the Bible, we’d all be making up our own rules (that would be awful, trust me). The Bible also teaches about the mistakes of the past. It shows us how to have faith in God. It teaches us how to grow in wisdom and understanding. We can learn how to love like Jesus did as well as serve and have faith like Paul. The Bible is truly amazing, yet it is becoming increasingly overlooked.

As a fellow Christian who used to overlook the Bible, I can probably say that time and effort played a huge factor in my Bible reading. The first excuse most young people make is that they do not have time. We are the microwave era, we like things fast and efficient. However, let me ask you this. How would you like it if you woke up one morning and asked God to bless your day and keep you safe and He responded, “Sorry, I am not sure if I have time in my schedule today, I’ll have to get back to you on that?” We expect God to listen to our needs and fulfill them, yet we can’t take time out of our own schedules to get to know a God who died for our inability to budget our time. The more time you put into getting to know God, the more you get to know Him and love Him. Yes, the Bible can be difficult to read at times. There are some words and contexts that are confusing, but there is nothing more rewarding than having God reveal the meaning behind His words. If you are struggling with understanding the Bible, ask God to show you the meaning (also look into study Bibles).

I am sure you have heard people tell you this a thousand times in church and Sunday school. Read your Bible. Read your Bible. I know, it can get old. Let me say this, how can we as Christians call ourselves Christ followers if we do not follow His very words, written for us? God desires to know you, just as you should desire to know Him. The only way for us to grow as strong believing Christians, is to know our God. The best way to do that is to dive deep into his word. So whether it be 5 minutes or an hour a day, (the longer the better) I encourage you to open up the most ancient and holy book of all time and begin your journey in experiencing the God of the universe.