The Bible is a book about holding. Now, this shouldn’t surprise us since we all hold things. Holding on to something is a natural part of life.
We hold in a variety of ways, and with a variety of people. Holding can be an intellectual activity: “I finally got ahold of geometry.” Holding is a physical activity: “I’m holding on to the rope for dear life!” Holding is a relational activity: “Let me hold your hand.” For Christians, holding is something more.
God invites us to “hold” His word — the Bible—but not in an intellectual or physical way. He’s inviting us into a relational holding that bonds us in love with Him, the book’s author. On a daily basis, we often experience relational holding in three ways.
We hold on to memories we love. One of my favorites is a Mowry family Christmas. My memory relishes the laughter (often at my expense), the food cooked by my son (the amateur chef), and the unbridled excitement of our grandchildren opening presents. Holding this memory is a multi-sensory experience that I enter into again and again because I love it so.
We also hold on to possessions we love. One of my prized possessions is a signed lithograph photo of The Beatles performing at the Cavern Club in 1962. When I look at this framed picture on my office wall, I go back in time to my first hearing of The Beatles. It brings back the sounds of “I Want to Hold Your Hand”—a time when life was simpler.
We hold on to people we love. When my twin grandchildren were young, I loved holding them and reading books to them. I can still feel them squirming in my arms. And after fifty years of marriage, I’m still thrilled by holding Peggy’s hand. Whether it’s memories, possessions, or people, holding is an act of care and intimacy. We hold what we love.
The Bible is a book about holding and a book to be held. One of the New Testament words for “holding” means “cleaving to something.“ A cross-check of words tells me that cleaving means “becoming strongly involved with or emotionally attached” to someone or something. This describes our holding of the Bible — we don’t let go; we’re glued to or stuck together with the book’s author.
Here are some examples of different kinds of holding from Scripture:
“Hold fast to him” (Deuteronomy 10:20).
“I hold fast to your statutes, Lord” (Psalm 119:31).
“Your right hand will hold me fast” (Psalm 139:10).
“Let your heart hold fast my words” (Proverbs 4:4).
“He must hold firm to the trustworthy word” (Titus 1:9).
“Hold to the testimony of Jesus” (Revelation 12:17).
We hold the things we love. Unfortunately, holding isn’t always positive. We can also hold on to the negative. We hold memories that are hurtful or traumatic. We let possessions get ahold of us. We retreat from the intimacy of touch. These acts of holding must be dealt with to truly hold or cleave to our Lord and to one another. Life is full of holding the good and the bad.
If you’ve ever been on a plane stuck in a holding pattern, you know how frustrating it can be to live in a state of no progress. Readers of the Bible—like you and me—can sometimes fall into this kind of “holding pattern.” We circle the Scriptures without touching down. We get stuck doing the same thing while waiting for something to happen. Perhaps you’ve experienced some of the following holding-pattern tendencies.
I feel guilty about what I think I’m supposed to do. These could include “I’m supposed to read the Bible,” “I’m supposed to love the Bible,” or “I’m supposed to feel something when I read the Bible.” These “supposed tos” make us feel guilty when they’re not what we experience. These feelings put us in a holding pattern and we delay landing in the Scriptures.
I’m bored with the familiar. Some of us have grown up in a church or family where the Bible has been emphasized since infancy. We’ve heard it and read it so often that it’s now boring. Who wants to land where it’s boring!
I don’t understand what I’m reading and am afraid of making a mistake. This can be a holding pattern for those new to the Bible. It seems like a complex and contradictory book. We’re afraid of making a mistake in interpreting and applying it, so we don’t read it at all. We circle around and around the text, fearful of diving in.
I’m satisfied reading what others have to say. Some of us fill our lives with devotional books, study guides, and the latest Bible blog postings. Reading what others have to say about the Bible feels safer and easier than reading it ourselves. We have few firsthand encounters with God in his Word. We hold through the experience of others.
Do you feel stuck in a holding pattern with the Bible? Do you long to break out of that cycle and touch down to encounter the author of this book? My up-coming book, Holding the Word: Five Ways to Encounter God in the Scriptures, will help you get there. This blog is a taste of what you will experience as you read the book. The release date is April 8 but you can pre-order a copy by going to navpress.com. It’s my prayer that we will be people who hold the Book and allow the Book to hold us!