Wrapping up what Matt Smethurst wrote about in his book: “Before You Open Your Bible,” we have four final postures.
Sixth, we come to the Word of God Joyfully
Smethurst wrote:
“…joy is tenacious. It fights. It grips the promises of God and won’t let go. And joy is not a mere good mood; it is ballast in our boats, an anchor in our storms, an immovable rock to stand on when the waves of life threaten to flatten us. Far from being a peripheral subtheme in Scripture, joy is the heartbeat of God.” (47-8)
When we come to the Word of God with this kind of joy, it does something to us. We are not reading still words on a page but a living and active Word that produces change.
Reading God’s Word ought to be a joyful delight rather than a begrudging duty. Even in joyful delight there is discipline. Seemingly impossibly, but experientially known, discipline gives way to delight. The steady building and changing that comes through a rhythm of discipline leads to a place of joyful delight as we desire to spend time in the Word and look forward to it with anticipation.
Or, as the next posture would say it, with expectation.
Seventh, we come to the Word of God Expectantly
The Word of God is…
…alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. - Hebrews 4:12 NIV
When we read, we do so with an expectation that God is going to move through His Word into our hearts, transforming us from the inside out. This is what God’s Word does! We expect it.
Eighth, we come to the Word of God Communally
As the Word of God moves and works within us, we are meant to grow and to read in community. We do have a personal faith in Jesus Christ that must be individually possessed. But, that individual faith is not individualistic. We are, again, meant to live and learn in community.
One benefit of approaching the Word communally is a diversity of thinking. Smethurst wrote:
It’s imperative, therefore, that we approach scripture alongside others, in the context of a diverse community—otherwise our experiences will limit us, our preferences will govern us, and our biases will blind us… We desperately need other Christians—ideally those who are different from us—to function in our lives as both barrier-setters and barrier-removers, simultaneously keeping us from reading wrongly and freeing us to read wisely. (63)
Ninth, we come to the Word of God Christocentrically
The final posture is our understanding that as we approach the Scriptures, they point to Christ. Smethurst wrote:
The Bible has one ultimate plan, one ultimate plot, one ultimate champion, one ultimate King. This is what “Christocentrically” means—centered on Christ (72)
He continued:
A sweeping view of the Bible topography from 30,000 feet, focused on Christ, would therefore look something like this:
Old Testament: anticipation
Gospels: manifestation
Acts: proclamation
Epistles: explanation
Revelation: conservation.
From beginning to end, your Bible is an epic story about Jesus. (74-75)
CONCLUSION
The Scriptures are a bottomless treasure chest of beauty and wonder, strength and joy. May we approach God’s Word for the rest of our days as if that’s true, because it is.