Reading the Bible in 2021

I have a confession to make: I have never read the Bible in a year. And I know it sounds wrong, but I don’t plan to do it this year, either.

The Bible in a year. It’s a popular New Year’s resolution, and I think I may have tried to do it once back in college. The thing of it is, I just don’t want to rush. Is that bad? There are some books worth speed reading, and for me, this is not one of them. Maybe if I read it through more often, I could read it faster without missing something. But as it stands now, this is an ideal that just doesn’t fit for me.

Of course, “Bible-in-a-year” isn’t the only model out there. I had a youth pastor who told us that you should read the Bible until you see something interesting, and then stop. His example was Genesis 1:1, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” Stop. Done for the day. Meditate on that and pick it up again tomorrow.

At that rate, I was sure I would reach Revelation by retirement.

Contrast this with one of my seminary professors, who insisted that each book of the Bible ought to be read in one sitting so that you see the big picture for each book. In his program, you would read all 50 chapters of Genesis today. And tomorrow, presumably, you would read all of Exodus. Is it hard? No. You’re just undisciplined.

When I’m teaching, I do try to get a sense of the whole book, but as part of daily devotions? That seems extreme.

Read it all in a year. Read a verse a day. Read a book a day. Who is right? How should I be reading my Bible?

Why Do We Read?

For me, there’s no point in trying to answer that question until I know what the purpose of Bible reading is. Once I know the purpose, I’ll have a better sense of which strategy is best. But before I go there (that is, to reason out the right answer), let’s stop and ask if God says anything about Bible reading.

Without doing an exhaustive search, I know for sure that there are many references to meditating on God’s Word day and night. I can’t think of a quantity statement anywhere in terms of how much ground to cover. Instead, what is clear is how much of me it should cover. In other words, the quantity to measure is my time and not chapter/verse/book.

I know that the Bible is useful for many things (teaching, correcting, training in righteousness, etc.). It’s full of wisdom and examples. So if I want to do any of those things, I should turn to the Word.

So we have two clues: meditate on it day and night, and know that it is useful for teaching and training. I believe God’s purpose for my Bible reading is to renew my mind by meditating on the truth. It’s a way of listening to God, and by listening I will find myself taught, rebuked, corrected, and in training.

What is clear is how much of me it should cover.

I’ve had seminars where I had to read a textbook a week in class. They were a stretch to say the least. But I don’t know that the value of reading the whole text was quite as important as the amount of time put into it. These were secular authors, so there was no point in relishing the language; our mission was to identify the central claims, trace the arguments and supporting evidence, and dig through the author’s background to become aware of agendas or biases. This kind of reading is right for a seminar, but it’s not the way I want to approach Scripture. I’m not evaluating and using the Bible as a tool for my purposes. I am coming to be evaluated and to let it reform my purposes.

So when I read, I have two goals: first, I want to renew my mind with the words and works of God. I want to meditate on who He is, what He has done, and His telling of the story. I want to know what He finds important. I want to know what frames I should use for interacting with the world and understanding my place it in. And second, in renewing my mind, I want to draw strength in my relationship with God. This is, to me, an important part of abiding in Christ. By renewing my mind, I’m hoping not just to gain a better sense of the world and better habits for acting in it; I want to hear God’s voice and enjoy close fellowship with the Triune God.

How Much Should We Read?

So if I’m right about the purpose, which mode seems best? Well, for me, I usually read a chapter a day, or more if there is a larger story being told. I just finished reading Genesis, and stories like the Flood or Joseph in Egypt simply demand to be read in one sitting. It makes most sense for me to read it at the story level, for the most part. These stories captivate, inform, and renew. The reading doesn’t exactly dominate my day, but what I read does have a better chance of sticking with me.

Do I miss things that the book-a-day or inspiration-a-day approach would uncover? Yes, I’m sure I do. You will always miss something when you read. That’s why you don’t read anything important just once. I’m at peace with not getting everything; my goal isn’t to get everything. My goal is to listen, submit, and be changed, and God can accomplish that quite easily even at a chapter a day.

Now, I must admit I often miss a few days here or there. I’m ok with that. While I am missing out, the quality aspect is more important to me than checking a daily box. I need it every day, I’m sure of that. But I don’t like cramming. Again, the goal isn’t rush to the end and say I did it. But don’t misunderstand; this isn’t about waiting until I “feel like it.” Practices often drive feelings, and so often the days I don’t feel like it are the days I need it most. Skipping is not about my mood, it’s about my schedule; some days it just doesn’t fit. This is almost certainly a result of poor planning on my part. As long as I am still living and thinking out of what I read the day before, that’s good enough for me.

So how long does it take me to get through the Bible? Well, the last time took far longer than it should have. I lost my way. I got discouraged at points. I read other “good things” and spent lots of time reading other Scriptures here and there. I don’t know that this is bad in and of itself. But what I missed out on by pausing my daily studies was moving away from the passages I gravitate toward and listening to passages that I overlook.

What’s more, long gaps like this make it harder for me to remember what I read two books ago and how it’s relevant to this other book here. Making the different books of the Bible talk to each other is, I think, a crucial mark of maturity. It means you’re not simply reading and moving on; you’re wrestling with what God is saying.

Of course, a huge part of reading is context. Some say it’s everything. There is always a context. If I read just one verse each day, my context for reading is almost certainly the rest of my experiences that day. I’m using my life (and the few verses I remember from previous weeks) as the frame of reference to process this verse. If that’s true, it’s a profound weakness of that method. If I read a book a day, the context for anything I read is book itself, which is absolutely right. That’s the context you want! The more you can swim in the context of the whole Word of God, the more you are reading the Bible in its proper context, because Scripture interprets Scripture. It should guide your focus and choices. So long gaps are bad, especially if you’re doing the pace I tend to pursue.

Trying New Things

Last year I finished a cycle of reading through the Bible, and I took a break for a few months, reading here and there as my interests dictated. This year I’m starting a new cycle. I need it. I want it. I’m excited to have the time to really enjoy it.

But this time around I’m also trying to share what I’m learning, and that makes it more complicated. I have not been blogging my reflections on each chapter; this is partly because I don’t want to make Bible reading a means to some artificial end, and partly because I don’t want to make it such a burden than I’m tempted to skip more often.

So I finished reading Genesis and what I am doing is looking for themes. What does God emphasize? I want to write about that. I have my own list of questions, but then questions I wasn’t asking start emerging and they intrigue me. I’m not done chewing on Genesis enough to share what I’ve found. But I also don’t want to move on and lose it. But I also don’t want to stop. So what do I do?!

This year I’m trying something new. I read through the book once, and now I’m reading through it again. The first time, I brought my black pen and made all kinds of general marks and notes. What jumps out? What surprises me? What seems deeply meaningful? Where do I see connections elsewhere? This second time, I grabbed a blue pen, and I’m reading with an agenda: I want to see exactly where God is. And I’m asking three questions: what names of God are being used, what is God doing, and what is God saying.

Since I just read these stories, I’m reading a bit faster this time. And because I’m reading with an agenda, new things are jumping out at me. I’m thoroughly enjoying it, and I think it adds a crucial layer to whatever I would have said about Genesis anyway.

When I’m done with this pass, I plan to choose another pen, another agenda, and read with that in mind, too. As much as possible, I’m trying to let the Bible tell me what my agenda should be. (Did you know God is mentioned over 30 times in Genesis 1? That helped inspire my “first agenda.”)

Yes, it means I have to wait on Exodus and the rest. (I may come to regret that.) There’s always a tradeoff. But this is helping me to meditate on God’s Word, which, again, is the goal. And I hope very soon to have some interesting studies to share.