Every time we come to the Bible, we can meet and know God. Engaging the Bible is a relational process, the primary means by which God engages the believer.
J. I. Packer, in his book Knowing God, writes that having a relationship with God is our primary purpose. “What were we made for? To know God. What aim should we have in life? To know God. What is the eternal life that Jesus gives? To know God. What is the best thing in life? To know God. What in humans gives God most pleasure? Knowledge of himself.” The Bible is the means by which we encounter God, get to know and enjoy him, and fulfill our purpose in life.
Eugene Peterson, in Eat This Book, states that Scripture engagement (or “spiritual reading”) is a relational process: “What I mean to insist upon is that spiritual writing—Spirit-sourced writing—requires spiritual reading, a reading that honors words as holy, words as a basic means of forming an intricate web of relationships between God and the human, between all things visible and invisible.” The process of hearing or reading the Bible must be done thoughtfully because you are coming into the presence of a Holy God.
Chris Webb, in The Fire of the Word, also writes that engaging the Bible is a relational process. Chris explains that the Bible is a “thin” place where we meet God: the Scriptures are a “place where the boundary between heaven and earth has been worn through…When we open the Bible, it does not say to us, ’Listen: God is there!’ Instead, the voice of the Spirit whispers through each line, ‘Look: I am here!’” The Bible is the inspired Word of God (2 Timothy 3:16); through it He speaks to us. Through it the Holy Spirit shows us who God actually is. As we come to know Him, we are changed more and more into his likeness.
Dr. Fergus Macdonald (of the Taylor University Center for Scripture Engagement) points out that each Person of the Trinity is involved in the relational process of Scripture engagement. “It is the Holy Spirit who enables the text to speak for itself; when the text speaks it is the voice of God the Father that is heard; and it is Jesus Christ who through the text makes a unique claim upon the readers and hearers.” By reading God’s written Word, we actually find his living Word, Jesus Christ. Come, meet God in the Scriptures!
Have you learned to engage the Bible to know God, not just know about God?
“Scripture engagement is interaction with the biblical text in a way that provides sufficient opportunity for the text to speak for itself by the power of the Holy Spirit, enabling readers and listeners to hear the voice of God and discover for themselves the unique claim Jesus Christ is making upon them.”
Dr. Fergus Macdonald, Taylor University Center for Scripture Engagement
“A person…Receives the Word of God into his/her mind by reading or listening to the words of the Bible. Reflects the words of the Bible into his/her heart and soul. Applies the truths of the Bible into his/her daily life.”
Center for Bible Engagement
The Bible itself teaches us how we are to approach God’s Word. Words the Bible uses include “meditate” (Psalm 1:2, Joshua 1:8), “reflect” (2 Timothy 2:7), “look intently” (James 1:25), “dwell” (Colossians 3:16), “ponder” (Psalm 119:95), “consider” (Jeremiah 2:31), and even “eat” (Jeremiah 15:16, Revelation 10:9-11) (see the “Scripture Engagement Passages” sidebar↗). The phrase that summarizes this process is “Scripture The Bible itself teaches us how we are to approach God’s Word. Words the Bible uses include “meditate” (Psalm 1:2, Joshua 1:8), “reflect” (2 Timothy 2:7), “look intently” (James 1:25), “dwell” (Colossians 3:16), “ponder” (Psalm 119:95), “consider” (Jeremiah 2:31), and even “eat” (Jeremiah 15:16, Revelation 10:9-11) (see the “Scripture Engagement Passages” sidebar↗). The phrase that summarizes this process is “Scripture
Conclusion
So what is Scripture engagement? It is a way of hearing and reading the Bible with an awareness that it is in the Scriptures that we primarily meet God. It is a marinating, mulling over, reflecting, dwelling on, pondering of the Scriptures, resulting in a “transformative engagement” with God. Besides “Scripture engagement,” phrases that have been used to convey the same idea include “holy attention” (see “Holy Attention” sidebar↗), “spiritual reading,” “participatory reading,” “formative reading,” and “existential reading” (see R. C. Sproul video).
What is Lectio Divina?
Lectio divina (pronounced “lec-tsee-oh di-vee-nah”), Latin for “sacred reading,” “divine reading,” or “holy reading,” is a spiritual practice that has been in use for over a thousand years. It was originally practiced by monks who spent a large portion of their days praying and reading Scripture.
The four steps of lectio divina have also been compared to “feasting on the Word.” Reading is taking a bite of food. Meditation is chewing food. Prayer is savoring food. Contemplation is digesting food and making it a part of your body. Too often we are fast food eaters, rapidly gulping down the Bread of Life (John 6:31). The result is that we are unable to properly absorb our “spiritual meal.” Slow down. Savor your time in God’s Word and find joy in meeting God.
The four steps of lectio divina have also been compared to “feasting on the Word.” Reading is taking a bite of food. Meditation is chewing food. Prayer is savoring food. Contemplation is digesting food and making it a part of your body. Too often we are fast food eaters, rapidly gulping down the Bread of Life (John 6:31). The result is that we are unable to properly absorb our “spiritual meal.” Slow down. Savor your time in God’s Word and find joy in meeting God.
Janice Dennison 