Imagine kissing someone through a pane of glass. What a funny image! Who would do that? We might blow a kiss to someone as they walk away. We might jokingly imitate a kiss to another through a glass window. But no two people would exchange a purposeful kiss through glass, especially when the real thing is available.
Kissing someone through a pane of glass creates an illusion of intimacy. Our lips appear to touch but no real contact is actually made. The passion is not felt; the touch is not enjoyed. Sometimes we experience this illusion of intimacy when we approach the Bible. Without realizing it, we can end up going through the motions of Scripture engagement without making contact with our Lord.
Unfortunately, too many Christians today are kissing the Scriptures through a pane of glass with little contact with the living God.
The statistics are in and Bible reading is declining. Research has shown that Bible engagement has fallen 21 percent among American adult Bible users over the last few years. Almost one in five churchgoers said they never read the Bible. And while
65 percent of Protestant churchgoers spend time alone with God daily, only 39 percent read the Bible during that time.
For those who do read the Bible, there’s an increasing reliance upon devotional books by popular authors. Many Christians are content to read another’s thoughts about the Scriptures rather than experiencing the personal joy of discovery through Bible study or meditation. We make celebrities of Bible teachers but seldom take the time to read or study the Bible for ourselves.
Without this personal discovery and encounter with God in the Bible, our experience is like kissing someone through a pane of glass. We have an illusion of intimacy with God but not a firsthand touch.
The Bible is a living, breathing, life-changing book in which the Spirit of God wants to personally touch our lives. It’s not enough to know the Bible intellectually; we must know the Bible in relational ways. To do this a new way of knowing and holding the Bible is required.
Let’s talk about knowing.
You can begin to catch some knowledge about me through my books. For example, you might know that I live in Columbus, Ohio; I have a dog named Ginger; my wife is Peggy; and we love gardening. At this point you know some facts about me, but you don’t really know me.
It’s not until we meet and have a conversation, not until we look one another in the eyes, do we begin the dance of knowing one another. We could easily exchange information through texting or an email. However, something special happens when we meet face-to-face—when we sit down together in a shared space to talk. What happens when we do this?
We make all kinds of associations when we see one another. In many of these encounters, we create a safe shared space where revelations happen. Through conversation, our hopes and dreams, sorrows and disappointments, are revealed to one
another. Over time, we might bond together in a friendship.
We soon begin to truly know one another—to hear what the other is saying and feel emotions with them in their words. This tuning into the rhythms and routines of another’s life is required to build relationships. This is the type of knowing that
the Bible speaks to—a relational knowing—and it’s this type of knowing that God invites us into (see Exodus 6:7 and Jeremiah 9:23-24).
Using various word pictures and relational experiences, the Bible paints a vivid description of this knowable God:
He speaks face-to-face (Exodus 33:4)
He dwells with God (Psalm 23:6).
Our souls cling to God (Psalm 63:8).
We trust God (Proverbs 3:9-10).
He upholds us (Isaiah 41:10).
We walk with God (Micah 6:8).
He’s close to us (Matthew 28:20).
He invites us to be friends ( John 15:7, 14).
Let’s explore what this word “know” means. One commentary describes it this way. The Hebrew word for “know” (yada) is “more than intellectual, emotional knowledge. . . . [It means] to enter into a deep commitment so profound that Yahweh enters our experience with us.” Consider how the Lord enters our life experiences from the above passages — speaking, dwelling, clinging, trusting, walking, closeness and friendship all speak to this type of knowing.
“Knowing” in this way prompts several questions. How does holding the Word enable us to know God? What marks the life of one who knows God by holding His words? How do we engage God in the Scriptures in a community of friends?
I invite you to explore these questions and more in my up-coming book Holding the Word: Five ways to experience God in the Scriptures. It is my prayer that this book will move you from kissing someone through a pane of glass to truly knowing our Lord in a relational rather than an intellectual way.
