“Pastor, the Bible is boring and hard to read. There are names and places I can’t pronounce, and it’s full of strange events I don’t understand. I just can’t get into it.” My friend, I’ve heard this before, and I agree to an extent. Yes, the Bible can be hard to read because it is full of unfamiliar and hard-to-say names, events, places, and customs. I agree we as humans need stimulation and excitement, and I suggest this fast-paced, video-based culture we live in makes reading any book more difficult and “boring”. But the Bible definitely is not boring! What makes it so interesting and exciting? I look at its influence, bold claims, and power. There’s no other book like it.
The Bible is a library of 66 books, written over 1,500 years of time. At least 40 different authors were guided and involved as God breathed His Spirit and wrote His Word through them. The Bible displays different styles and genres, from history to story to wise sayings and poetry; there’s something in it for everyone. It speaks across time and space, in thousands of languages, across cultures, to people from young to old and all colors and sizes in-between, with one singular story: God is redeeming a people to Himself for His glory. This is incredible! The Bible definitely is not boring.
The Bible is bold in its claims. It is the Word of God, breathed out by God, penetrating to the heart, the living Word. It says we are all in sin and fall short of His glory and deserve His wrath, punishment, and anger. It says we need to be saved and Jesus is the Savior, Lord and King, the Son of God, the way and truth and life; no one can get to God except through Him. He died on the cross and shed His blood to make payment for sin, then rose from the dead three days later. It promises hope and glory and eternal life, beyond the grave. Hallelujah, what a Savior! This is unbelievable, and we are forced to wrestle with its claims. No other book makes such assertions. The Bible definitely is not boring.
The Bible is a powerful book. It is a sharp, two-edged sword, that cuts deep and strikes against enemies. It addresses the evils of our day, confronting immoral, murderous, abusive, selfish, sinful people, and changes them into lovers of God, people who worship Him and serve the poor and sick and stand for truth. No one can kill the Bible or its people. It keeps on going and going, withstanding efforts from individuals and governments to suppress and destroy it, yet we hold it in our hands, read it with our families, and pass it on to the next generation. The Bible definitely is not boring.
We don’t need to be bored with the Bible. True, there are harder parts to understand, and there is value in reading it in community, with others. Ask questions, seek answers. We can and must rise up in our spirit to fight the good fight of faith against boredom. Consider its influence, boldness, and power. The Bible definitely is not boring.