Reading the bible is like mountain climbing

Picture this. I'm at the bottom of a mountain. I lift my eyes and look up to the peak. It's a long way up. How will I ever get to the top? But that's where I want to be - at the top of the mountain. I look around and notice another person beside me. Oh, I see. He's all dressed up in mountain climbing gear, and has the obvious look of someone who knows what he's doing. He must be the guide. I stroll on over, and enlist his help for my adventure. He starts by asking me questions.

• Am I hungry, not for food, but for the challenge of getting to the top?
• Am I prepared to roll-up my sleeves and put in some effort?
• Will I listen to his guidance, as he knows the right trails to take?

I take some time before answering. The mountain looks big, and I look small. I don't think I could ever do it by myself. Do I want to go all the way to the top? I lift my eyes again and look at the snowy peak glistening in the sunlight. It beckons to me, calling me up. The longer I look at it, the more desire begins to grow within me. That is where I want to be. I take my eyes off the peak and look at myself again. Have I really got what it takes? I'm not sure, but that mountain sure does look inviting, and scary. Woah, what am I thinking that I could take this on by myself? Oh yeah, I'm not on my own. I look at the guide again. He looks quietly confident, poised and ready, and I know I can trust him. So am I hungry enough, and prepared to put in the effort. Hmmm.

I turn to my guide and say "Let's do it!".

He turns to me and say, all you ever needed about mountain climbing can be learned by your 1-2-3's.

• There is one goal in mountain climbing - getting to the top; not half way there, but all the way
• You need one guide - who knows the way and can lead you there
• you need two things from yourself - hunger and hard-work
• hunger - you must want to get to the top; and every time you look at the goal, your desire will grow
• hard work - it will involve effort; you must roll-up your sleeves and put in the effort

And reading the bible is like climbing that mountain.
One Goal
What is the one purpose in reading the bible? Is it to gain more knowledge? Is it to win arguments? Is it to prove you know more than someone else? No. The one purpose is to meet the author.

Jesus berated the religious leaders in his day because they were forgetting that the whole purpose of reading the bible is to meet the author.
John 5:39-40 You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life.

Jesus is the author of the bible. And he is alive today. Every time you pick up the bible and start reading, remember that he is alive and wants to spend time with you. So whenever you read - STOP - slow down - and prepare to meet the person who wrote it.

When you read the bible just for knowledge, it's like starting up a mountain and stopping half way. The whole purpose is to get to the top.  Go all the way to the peak, and meet with Jesus.
One Guide
The quickest way to learn a subject is to spend time with an expert. And if that expert has written a book, buy it. But even better than buying the book would be actually meeting the author, the one who wrote it, and talking directly with them. Then any time you had a question, you could stop and ask.

Believe it or not - that is what you have. You don't just have the bible to read, you have the Holy Spirit as your guide. He is the author of the book, and he knows exactly what he meant when he wrote it. So he is the most qualified to explain it to you.

In his last supper before being crucified for us, Jesus takes some time and let's his friends (his disciples) know what is coming. Their biggest concern is that they'll be left alone when Jesus is gone. So he tells them:
John 14.16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever.

At the moment, Jesus is their personal counsellor, but he is going away. But another counselor, the Holy Spirit,  is coming. And the Spirit is just as good as Jesus. In fact, Jesus even goes so far as to say that the stuff he couldn't explain to them, hard stuff, complicated stuff, the Holy Spirit will be able to explain to them. in fact, He'll be able to explain everything to you.
John 16:12 “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. [13] But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.

This is who you have to teach you. You're not alone. Jesus has given you a guide, a counsellor, a life-coach, a personal trainer, a one-on-one teacher who has a purpose and a mission, to not leave one stone unturned and guide you into all truth.
Two Requirements
It almost sounds too easy. Isn't there something we have to do? Sure - we definitely have a part to play. We must bring hunger and hard work to the table.

Hunger - when we're hungry to know God, it's easy to spend time with him, and easy to read your bible. But just because you're not hungry doesn't mean you stop eating. When you're hungry you still eat, because without eating, there is no energy to live life. Sometimes eating is just ....

Hard work. Yes, that's right - hard work. It's not always exciting, but every step you take, each word you read, takes you one stop closer to reaching the top of the mountain, or in our case, meeting Jesus.

Reading vs Studying
I very deliberately wrote reading the bible and not studying the bible. Because studying is often starting off on mountain trails of our own, ignoring our guide, and trusting on ourselves to get up the mountain i.e. trusting in our ability to understand the bible with our natural mind instead of relying on our coach, the Holy Spirit.

And also studying sounds like hard work, and if you struggled at school,  you may think that studying is something you wouldn't be able to do, and wouldn't want to do. However, I love the way Jesus made it simple. He said, all it takes is the humility of a child.

Matt 18 [1] At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”
 [2] He called a little child and had him stand among them. [3] And he said: “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. [4] Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

Reading the bible does require hard work, but not complicated work. It's not easy, but anyone can do it. The hard part is simply the child-like faith to just keep doing it, to simply humble yourself and believe that when you read the bible, you're reading God's thoughts and ideas, and you're spending time with him.

Back in 1994 I attended a youth conference. One of the speakers shared the following thought.
God has never given me personal direction for my life while studying the bible and trying to get a message for other people. Everytime I get personal direction from God, and he talks to me, it comes from reading the bible for myself, just to spend time with him, not to get a message for someone else. Make sure that you're reading the bible for yourself. Put some time into your day just to sit with Jesus, and read his word, because that is when he will speak to you personally and give you direction.

That thought really struck me, and I realized that most of the time when I read the bible it was for the wrong reasons. I didn't have the one goal of meeting Jesus, but usually the other goals of gaining knowledge, or winning arguments, or preparing a message. And I wasn't a Pastor, or a Priest or anything, I was just a normal christian. I'd done exactly what Jesus had berated (told off) the religious leaders for - studying the bible for knowledge about God, instead of relationship with him.

And that is why I emphasize reading rather than studying. Reading implies something done for fun, enjoyment, pleasure. And that's the goal. Read the bible to meet the one who wrote it. The hard work comes in when you keep reading even when it seems boring.

I'm ready to start - what now
You've scheduled your time - whether you've got up early, stayed up late, or grabbed some time during the day. You've got your bible with you. What do you do now?
One goal - Picture the mountain. Look at the peak. Remember the goal - to meet with Jesus. So, talk to him, and tell him you're ready to come and meet him.
One guide - look beside you. You're not alone. You have a guide, who will lead you into all truth. Talk to the Holy Spirit, and thank him for his help as you read today.
Begin to read. I suggest you start in the New Testament - either Matthew, Mark, Luke or John. These are the four eye witness accounts of Jesus' time on earth.
Read out loud if you want - I often do. And talk to Jesus and the Spirit while you read.
Be just like the little child, the one God said was the greatest in the kingdom. Treat Jesus like he's really there, next to you while you're reading about him.
And have fun!