Importance of Reading in the Christian Faith

I'm reposting this article because part two will be published tomorrow.

All of us have heard of ADD, Attention Deficit Disorder. We can argue about whether it is a real condition or not, but there is no question that more and more people are unable to focus or pay attention for long periods of time.

Reading and meditation are two skills that require the ability to “attend” to the task at hand for extended time periods. These are skills and practices that God requires of us as Christians.

We as men, since God has called us to lead, must be sure we are able to attend to these things and then in our position of leadership in our homes we need to be prepared to set a tone that will help our children avoid the pitfalls of attention deficit.

1. The Word and reading are central to the Christian faith.

God has chosen to act through words. According to Genesis 1:3, God used words to create the world. Even though He used words, the world became a real place that human beings can see, study and investigate. In Mark 4:39, Jesus spoke and the sea became calm. The natural world responded to the words of God.

The Apostle John calls Jesus the “word”. He says that the word became flesh and lived among us. The author of the book of Hebrews elaborates on this by saying that God has spoken in many ways throughout history but in these latter days He has spoken in His son. In other words Jesus Christ is the language or word that God used to communicate with mankind.

From these examples we can see how important word is to God and His way of doing things.

In addition, God has given us His Word in written form. The Bible says that all Scripture is given by inspiration of God. (2 Timothy 3:16) The Greek word for “scripture” in this verse is “graphe” meaning “writing”. In another passage, Peter writes that holy men spoke as they were moved along by the Holy Spirit. (2 Peter 1:21). Even the Psalmist said, “The Lord gave the word and great was the company of those that published it.” (Psalm 68:11) The Bible says that the Word of God is living and powerful being able to pierce down into our souls and help us discern between the thoughts and intents of our hearts. (Hebrews 4:12)

The Christian life is one based on the written and spoken word. In a day and age when the written word is being down-played in preference to visual presentations, it is important for Christians to make every effort to strengthen our ability read and attend to the written and spoken word and to help our children develop those skills as well.

Next time we will look at several passages of Scripture that show us that reading is commanded, encouraged and expected.