“Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so.”

That statement (in song form) was probably one of the first things I learned as a little kid growing up in church – maybe it was for you too. The Bible tells us that Jesus loves us. But the Bible is a really big book! The one sitting in front of me has 1,316 pages, each of which has two columns of words in small type. The Bible is also a really complicated book – it’s actually 66 books, written by over two dozen authors, over thousands of years, in multiple languages. We believe that God has given us this book as his true word, but how do you begin to make sense of a book like this? I desire deeply for you to go on a life-long journey of rich growth in faith through the Scriptures. To help you on that road, consider three ideas that can help you on the right path. Those three ideas to look out for when you read the Bible are Promises, Patterns, and Harmony.  

Promises

God’s infinite goodness and power show up from the very beginning in the commitments he makes to his people. Right after the Fall, God promises Adam and Eve that the serpent who deceived them will be defeated by one of their offspring (Genesis 3:15). Later on in the story, God makes a promise with Noah after the Flood (Genesis 9). The Bible calls this promise a covenant, and God’s covenants are sprinkled throughout the Scriptures. He makes them to Abraham (Genesis 12, 15), Moses and Israel at Mount Sinai, Joshua in the promised land, and King David (2 Samuel 7). Finally, Jesus brings them all together in what is called the New Covenant (Luke 22:20). These promises are all linked together and part of one big promise, the assurance that God desires to be with his people and offer them salvation and care for them, even when they can’t (or won’t) keep up their promises. When you read the Bible, try to figure out where you are in relation to these promises that God makes. See what God promises and trust in the promise! God never forgets or goes back on his promises. They’re each related to one another and tie the whole Bible together.

Patterns

If you’re driving down the road and you see acres of pine trees growing in perfect rows, you know that they didn’t just get there naturally. A tree farmer planted them there in a pattern with the purpose of harvesting lumber later. Patterns show us purpose and expectation, and they’re in the Bible the same way we see them in the world. God’s purpose is to bring people into relationship with himself, and he has given us patterns in Scripture to create the expectation that he’ll do it. God repeatedly saves through mighty acts of judgment – first Noah’s Flood, then the Exodus of Israel through the Red Sea, then the battles in the Promised Land, then the Exile and Return of Israel. What this pattern of salvation and judgment is meant to do is tune our minds to see and understand what God does in Jesus’s life, death, and resurrection. God’s greatest act in history was an act of judgment (the cross) that led to salvation (resurrection). Jesus is the expectation of the patterns of the Bible. When you read the Bible, look for patterns that point to Jesus! Kings, sufferers, miracles, and prophets are each like pine trees in a row, making you wonder, why are they there, and why do they look the same?

Harmony

I guarantee you that your favorite song has a harmony in it – notes sung in slightly different ways that unite to create a power and beauty we wouldn’t hear otherwise. There are low notes that resonate in our bones and high notes that seem to soar in the sky. They’re different sounds, but when they’re put together, it’s wonderful! The things that are different in the Bible work together in the same way. We read in the Psalms about how sweet and pleasant the Lord’s favor is (Psalm 16). Then, a few pages later, Jeremiah cries out to God about how terribly the Lord disciplines Israel (Lamentations). God shows glimpses of his glory to Israel in a terrifying pillar of fire and cloud in the Old Testament. In the New Testament, God reveals himself in the person of Jesus Christ, whom the disciples could touch with their hands, eat with, and pray with. What are we to do with these differences? Instead of just trying to smooth them over or explain them away, try to appreciate them for what they are. They come together to make a much better point than they do on their own. For example, God is not a God of either wrath or love, he’s a God in which both are united. Infinite sacrificial love and totally perfect justice are somehow at peace with one another in him. Seeing the differences in Scripture this way will expand your view of God; he will only become more awesome and wonderful to you, just like a song becomes more beautiful when it moves from unison to harmony. 

If you’ve never read the Bible through, I encourage you to try it – I hope that you can begin to see the promises, patterns, and harmonies that are woven into the Bible, which is one big story about Jesus.

Grace & Peace, 

Cade