a danger of reading the bible

If we aren’t careful, we can tend to become familiar and slack when it comes to relating to the God of the Bible. There are many things which can lead to such sluggish apathy, but I think one catalyst to such an attitude comes from interacting with Scripture on a surface level. We read the Bible in our language and we know it is talking about a great God. But we take the blessing of God’s Word being readable and knowable and then we begin to think that God is kind of like us. This does not happen immediately, but subtly.

I know it sounds so blasphemous to say that we think God is like us, but I can feel the tendency. I begin to just assume that God is an English speaking God who relates on a human level. But God is so far above us and beyond us. In fact, He says, “My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:8,9) He is entirely NOT human and completely different. Paul Washer said, “He is not quantitatively bigger than us, He is qualitatively different from us.” In other words, He does not just do everything better than us and in a larger capacity, but He does things differently.

The reading of the words that have come from the mouth of God must lead us to small view of God because the words are understandable, but to a high view of God that worships and thanks Him for speaking to us.