Why We Read The Bible

So many good things I could have written on today. I will NOT be writing on the following:

1. The Law as described in Galatians 5:2-3

2. Unity amongst believers as described in Galatians 5:15-18 (and covered by David)

3. The fruits of the Spirit as described in Galatians 5:22-23

4. Reaping what we sow as described in Galatians 6:6-10

Nope, good subjects all, and some that might be returned to as we cover other epistles, but I have something else in mind. Galatians 6:4-5 states:

⁴ Each one should test his own actions. Then he can take pride in himself, without comparing himself to somebody else, ⁵ for each one should carry his own load. 

Complete the following sentence:

The Bible is a book that tells ________ how to live ______ lives.

We can put numerous words into that sentence, but most will boil down to two choices:

1. OTHERS/THEIR--there is a time and a place for instructing people, and occasions will arise where we need to have a discussion with someone and ask them if they're leading the life they really want to live. But, much more often than not, the correct answer should be...

2. US/OUR--taken to its fullest extent, if we all led Christ-like lives, we would never need rebuking from others. This isn't  possible, of course, but our primary responsibility is to see that we ourselves lead Godly lives, and serve as examples for others to emulate. We can't shine like stars or let our lamp out from under a bowl if we don't lead a life that is clearly focused on God. 

No matter how hard I try, I struggle with telling other people how to do things and stick my nose into matter where it doesn't belong. Since every single one of us has the log in our eye that Jesus mentioned in Matthew 7:3-5, we would do well to follow his advice in that instance and remove the obstacle from our own life first. There will be times when the Bible will serve as our guide to instruct others, but we need to apply that instruction to ourselves first.

Scott