IN the wake of this pandemic, many people are searching for answers. I believe the Bible points us to Christ, who is the answer. However, many would say: Is the Bible still relevant today? Furthermore, why should we read the Bible. We are all busy people. Who has time to read yet another book? Is there any personal benefit or do we just do it to feel like we are fulfilling some religious duty to attract some type of points with the Almighty “eye in the sky” who we may have to answer to on judgement day if we even believe in that stuff?
Ashley Thaba
Let me answer with a modern day analogy. A couple of years ago, my husband and I got the same phone. Anxious to begin using it, I tossed the manual aside and turned it on. My diligent husband, on the other hand, studied the instruction manual start to finish. I marvelled at how he could speak into his phone and it would type what he said, how his phone did checklists which got ticks when actions were completed, and could even record calls.
He jokingly reminded me that we had the same phone. Mine could do that too if I was willing to make it a priority to learn how to maximise usage of my phone. But I was too busy! I was comfortable with WhatsApp, SMSes and calls only. So I never learnt and I missed out on what all the phone was created to do for my enjoyment.
Like a phone, we also have a Creator. And, like most created products, we come with an instruction manual.
Our “creator” knows how we can have the most abundant life. As the smartest being in the universe, He knows how to advise us, how to make the best decisions to lead us to experience the joy, peace and love we were created to desire. The answers are found in his love letters to us, the Bible.
If we truly grasped that an eternal being who knows our thoughts before we even think and knew us when we were in our mother’s womb is willing to personally walk with us as a private counsellor and strength giver through every day of our lives, we would prioritise reading the “instructional manual” so we could get the most out of the “product”, which is our lives.
So, why don’t most of us read the Bible and study it more often? Like me, with my iPhone, many of us get comfortable and settle for less than what we could be simply because we are lazy. We complain that there must be more to life. We get bored. We get depressed. All the while, our heavenly Father calls and says: “Come to me. I am the way to True Life. I know because I called life as you know it into existence.”
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Some of us don’t read the inspired word of God because we simply don’t know how. The task of opening up a book that was written thousands of years ago by 40 different authors over a span of 1 600 years is daunting.
Intimidated, sometimes we defer to “men of God” who claim they can decipher it for us for a pretty penny and we end up getting manipulated sometimes in our genuine search for spiritual insight.
God recently led me to write a book, titled Dive In. It outlines practical methods for how to read the Bible. I go through each book of the Bible with a paragraph summary and choose a book to go through verse by verse asking thought provoking questions after each verse to really help you learn to practically apply the Bible to your life so that you can experience what your Creator desired for you when He created you. The book can be bought on my website www.ashleythaba.
I only mention that because it is a useful tool that might help people to decipher the Bible that is collecting dust on your bedside table. Ultimately, however, you don’t need it. If you feel comfortable diving straight into the word of God, go for it. There is really no need for middle men (or middle “books”) as you can hear from God directly through His timeless words of scripture.
In summary, to answer the question posed above, yes I feel the Bible is very relevant, and I think taking time to read this Spirit inspired book will change your life for the better. Thankfully, I can say that in the company of countless millions who share the same sentiment and the same testimony that reading and obeying God’s word has also positively enhanced their lives.
