I have been following along in reading the Bible with Pastor Stuart’s Daily Scripture Reading email. I have to admit, though, I am quite a few chapters behind. I find myself stopping after only a few passages to reflect on what I read. This is not a bad thing, it just doesn’t work well for reading programs. My point is that I find myself asking questions about what I just read and asking questions about myself in regards to what I just read. I want to be a person who not only knows the word of God, I want to be transformed to be more like Jesus by the time I spend in the word of God.

With this in mind, I read a blog today in which the author states, “[The gospel] is a story that is not told to be claimed as our own so much as it is written to claim us as its own.” This impacted me because so often we read Scripture for ourselves (to change and grow, to have an answer or defense, for good luck, etc.). The statement I quote above encourages us to be people of the word by not simply ingesting it, but by being drawn into it and participating in the story, finding ourselves a part of something bigger than us. Though this can be done individually, I believe it is best done collectively, not persons of the word, but a people of the word, informed and transformed by the story of God so that we can be bridge, inviting others to participate with us in this story as we authentically retell it through our lives.

Grace and peace,

Brook