Time to dive in and go swimming in 2017! Dive Into The Bible and Learn To Swim by Trevin Wax
Americans love the Bible; they just don’t read it enough.
According to research for the American Bible Society, the majority of Americans believe the Bible is inspired and that its principles should exert more influence on public life.
Eighty-eight percent of households in America own at least one Bible, including non-Christian homes (68 percent). The average family has three to four copies of God’s Word. Twenty-four percent of American families say they own more than five!
Reading the Bible
Bible ownership is high. Not so with Bible readership. Only one in seven adults reads the Bible daily.
Why so few? Most Americans claim it’s the busyness of their lifestyle or their own frustration in understanding the biblical text.
Among churchgoing Protestants, the number of Bible readers is much higher. Eighty percent claim to read the Bible at least once a week. That’s a hopeful place to start if you want to reinvigorate Bible reading in your church or push toward a “read the Bible every day” routine this year.
Bible Reading Practices
Lately, I’ve been sifting through some unpublished LifeWay research on how people interact with the Bible. Many of the tools available (cross-reference Bibles, topical indexes, and so on) help readers find the connections between Scripture passages or come across a timely word in a troubling season. People admit they are more likely to seek out Bible promises when they need encouragement in their daily life.
But I’m conflicted about these reports.
On the one hand, I want people going to the Bible for whatever reason may prompt them. I believe God’s Word changes lives. I believe his Word will not return empty. I trust Christ to accomplish his purposes through his Word.
Throughout church history, we see people transformed by a seemingly random portion of God’s Word: the eyes of Augustine falling on Paul’s instruction in Romans 13:13, or the preacher’s quotation of Isaiah 45:22 (“Look unto Me!”) that gripped the heart of a young Charles Spurgeon.
On the other hand, I want Christians going to God’s Word for more than daily tidbits for practical life. Too many of us go to God’s Word in order to get something out of it. I want more of us to go to God’s Word in order to get into it.
