For Your Children’s Sake (Reading the Bible Through as a Family Adventure)

A few days ago, my twelve-year-old son—prompted, in part, by Barry Wingfield’s recent sermon, DEW60—said to me: “Daddy, we should read the Bible through this year together.” His words moved me with a sense of excitement and anticipation that I hadn’t experienced since I bought my iPhone! (My goal every year is to read the Bible through in a translation I’ve never used before, so that I might see with fresh eyes the stories that I’ve heard for so many years. So this year, my son and I have chosen the New Living Translation.) We're only a few days into it, but it's already been a rich blessing.

Thus, I propose to you Three (Random) Reasons to Read the Bible Through as a Family.

1. Biblical literacy in America has reached an all-time low.

Let me offer just a couple of examples: In January 2009, following the BCS Championship Bowl, in which quarterback Tim Tebow came out with John 3:16 written on his eye black, the top Google search for the next week was ‘John 3:16.’ Could it be that the Bible has become so unfamiliar that its once-most-recognizable verse is now completely foreign. Brian Lowery commented:

Isn't it awfully telling that people actually had to look up John 3:16 on Google to know what it says? It used to be that you could bank on people knowing at least a few biblical texts, and John 3:16 was one of them. It has, after all, been broadcast at pretty much every professional game long before Tebow smeared it on his face-often on poster boards, and usually by a guy wearing a rainbow wig. People saw it and thought, Yeah, yeah, yeah. 'For God so loved the world.' I get it. Now, was that a first down? But last night a good part of America saw the text and thought, What the heck does that mean?

Well, if people don’t know John 3:16, at least they know who Adam and Eve are, right? Don’t count on it. A friend of mine is a professor at a Christian university, and in one particular class when he mentioned Adam and Eve, one student innocently raised his hand and asked: Weren’t those the first missionaries to Africa? (Yes, I did say, Christian university!)

Clearly biblical literacy can no longer be assumed. If we want our kids to know the Bible, the simplest way to make that happen is to read it together with them.

2. The tenets of Atheism are promoted largely by those who didn’t know their fathers.

This is fascinating to me. Nearly all of the renowned atheists that we read about in our erstwhile philosophy classes (e.g., Nietzsche, Hume, Russell, Sartre, and Camus) grew up without fathers. So what we have in their writings and provocations may very well be them projecting their fatherless experience upon God, and thus concluding that God doesn’t exist. Michael Wittmer says this: "How our children perceive us and our love towards them goes a long way toward how they understand the love of their heavenly Father.” And what better way to show our children that we love them than by (the doubly beneficial effort of) introducing them to the story of a God who reveals himself on every page of Scripture, and who is deeply interested in them.

Plus, as with any literature, reading the Bible prompts questions, and questions spark dialogue. After only a few days of this reading plan, my son and I have already had four or five conversations about faith, spirituality, and God. We’re not just learning about God, we’re doing it together. And if ninety percent of being a good dad is just showing up, then it doesn’t matter if we have all the answers (of course, we won’t!); at least, we’re taking an interest, and that's huge.

3. You (and your children) may discover that the Bible is not what you thought it was.

"Now, some people think the Bible is a book of rules," says Sally Lloyd-Jones, "telling you what you should and shouldn’t do. The Bible certainly does have some rules in it. They show you how life works best. But the Bible isn’t mainly about you and what you should be doing. It’s about God and what he has done.

Other people think the Bible is a book of heroes, showing you people you should copy. The Bible does have some heroes in it, but (as you’ll soon find out) most of the people in the Bible aren’t heroes at all. They make some big mistakes (sometimes on purpose), they get afraid and run away. At times, they’re downright mean.

No, the Bible isn’t a book of rules, or a book of heroes. The Bible is most of all a Story. It’s an adventure story about a young Hero who comes from a far country to win back his lost treasure. It’s a love story about a brave Prince who leaves his palace, his throne–everything–to rescues the ones he loves. It’s like the most wonderful of fairy tales that has come true in real life!

You see, the best thing about this Story is–it’s true. There are lots of stories in the Bible, but all the stories are telling on Big Story. The Story of how God loves his children and comes to rescue them. It takes the whole Bible to tell this Story. And at the center of the Story, there is a baby. Every story in the Bible whispers his name. He is like the missing piece in the puzzle–the piece that makes all the other pieces fit together, and suddenly you can see a beautiful picture."

2010 won’t be the first time I’ve read the Bible through, but it will be the first time I’ve read it through with my son. I’ve offered three reasons that I’m excited about this, but I can think of many more. As you strive to do your DEW60 (Diet, Exercise and Worship) in 2010, why not bring the family along! You may take your family on a journey that's unlike anything you've ever experienced.