antiques & the word
Antique stores can be some of my favorite places on the planet to be, if I have enough time to dig. I’ve always loved going, looking at tons of old, warped records and walls of cast irons and weird victorian furniture, occasionally finding something to bring home and make mine.
I’ve been through this process of digging at least a hundred times, but this time the Lord showed me something really valuable.
I’m sure I’m not the only one, but something about growing up in the church and knowing a lot of the “highlights” of the Bible from, just, well, living has made studying the Bible as an adult feel a little pointless. (Reallll honesty time you guys). Maybe you’ve been there too. You open it and read a few verses, think “I already know this,” get frustrated, close it, and go about your day.
This thought process is obviously flawed. If you liken the Bible to an antique store (which I’m about to do for this entire blog post so I hope you’re into that), it’s as if you were going into the store with the attitude “I came here 5 years ago, what’s the point?” That’s silly, because it’s been 5 years! There’s new things to discover! And even if it’s the same weird furniture and old photo prints, you’re a different person than you were five years ago. Chances are you’ll find something for where you’re at right now.
The particular store I went to was real big. Like, so much stuff I was kinda scared to walk. It felt overwhelming. Opening the Bible feels that way sometimes.
When I first started out, everything I saw was weird and expensive. I didn’t understand the value of these seemingly common artifacts. Reading the Bible feels that way sometimes.
As I kept digging, though, I started to find some pretty cool things. Not for me, though. But cool for someone. Trying to connect with the Bible feels that way sometimes.
Then, it got personal. I found old postcards from Colorado and New York and Atlanta. I found a state capital-flashcard-pencil box. I found a vinyl of NASA’s recordings of the moon landing. All things that are VERY for me, for where I am right now in this moment.
That’s when it clicked that reading the Bible is supposed to be like that. Finding truths that are VERY for you, for where you are right now in this moment. And if you take the time to really quiet yourself and sit down and allow the Holy Spirit to teach you, that’s how it is. Studying the Bible isn’t supposed to be this meaningless chore of trying to connect with God through the verses that worked last time. It’s going in, spending the time, asking God to show you what little treasures He’s got for you this time. It’s really one of the greatest gifts He gives us, a word that doesn’t change and a God that doesn’t change but that is also everything you need where you are now, just like He was 5 years ago, 10 years ago, for everyone that’s ever lived and ever will.
So, next time you open your Bible, approach it like an afternoon at an antique store instead of a run-in to the grocery store to grab Reese’s Puffs. There’s something in there for you, where you’re at right now.