About our Purpose
(We’re Just Splashing Around Here!)
s been said that Bible study is superior to Bible reading because when you are just reading, you’re only scratching the surface. Well, let me challenge that idea with a few childhood memories.
I grew up near the ocean in California and from the time I can remember, my brother and sister and I would splash in the waves at Gaviota State Park Beach. When we were toddlers, we would sit on the sand near the shoreline and let the waves come and wash over our little feet — always under the watchful eye of our parents. As we grew a little older, we would wade out to knee deep water, still holding hands with Mommy and Daddy.
At some point a spirit of adventure took over and we would wander into chest deep water letting the adults watch nervously from the shore. That’s when the real fun began. What do you do when you’re just a kid standing in chest deep water and a three-foot wave comes? You jump straight up! The mighty wave effortlessly lifts you to the surface, and gently sets you down right where you were standing. It was always a thrilling experience.
Later on I discovered boogie boards, which defined a new thrilling experience. Now I’d wade all the way out to the breakers, and when a big wave came, I’d hop on the board, allowing the wave to carry me to the shore. I can’t describe the fun! In my growing up years, I never learned to surf, but the experience has got to be something like boogie boarding to the tenth power.
It’s All About Bible Reading
Allow me to pause here and explain that this website is all about Bible reading. It is not about Bible study, which I believe to be a separate discipline.
What’s the difference between Bible reading and Bible study? In all my years splashing in the Pacific Ocean, I have only enjoyed the surface. Aside from a few boat rides, I have never ventured out beyond chest-deep water. I associate this surface activity to Bible reading.
Bible study takes the deep dive. The problem is that the Bible is so huge that our deepest dives aren’t very deep.
Think again about the Pacific Ocean. If we learned to scuba dive, how much of the Pacific would we be able to explore? If we all got PhD’s in oceanography, how much would we know about oceans? Not much, really.
God’s Word is more fathomless than any ocean. No matter how deep we go into Bible study, we are still only scratching the surface, and sometimes we feel badly about that.
We Splash Around Without Apology
However, when we read the Bible, we are scratching the surface without apology. We are like children splashing in the waves and enjoying the shoreline.
Do we learn anything? Absolutely. Every trip is different from the last. One day we’ll see a fish we’ve never seen before, and another time a giant wave will knock us off our feet with its power.
If you are new to the Word of God, I’ve kept you in mind. I’ll guide you through your first baby steps as you splash near the edge. If you’ve been a Christian for a while, I’ll do my best to take you to chest-deep.
Anything beyond that comes under the category of Bible study. I love Bible study, but I’d need to write more books and create another website for that.