God’s Word is all about God. That should be obvious. But we spend an inordinate amount of time trying to figure out our place in His story. The Bible is not about you or me. It’s about God. We make a mistake when we try to make it about us. From Genesis to Revelation, we are reading the story of Jesus. Since Jesus is the very Word of God (John 1:1), it only follows that God’s Word is all about Him.
Yet the most prevalent form of preaching today centers on finding yourself or your circumstances in the Bible. I’m not saying there isn’t a plethora of wisdom to be found in the Word of God, but it is not the primary reason the Bible exists.
The reason we have the Bible is so we can learn about Jesus. God’s Word does not exist so you can figure out how to live your best life now. Its purpose is not to show you how to become happy, healthy, and wealthy. And it is not to teach you the six steps towards a successful business. Is there wisdom to be found in God’s Word in all those areas? Absolutely, but the reason they are in there is that the book is about Jesus, and all good things have their source in Him.
If you want to learn about Jesus, read the Bible. If you want to know how to live your life in a manner that looks like Jesus, study God’s Word to see how Jesus lived. God’s Word is the story of redemption found in Jesus Christ. From the fall of Adam until the last page in the book, we see God at work redeeming His creation through Jesus. If you look for Him and take the time to study the Bible, you will find the story of God’s redemption on every page. It’s a long narrative that takes place over thousands of years, and it is still unfolding today.
God’s Word is not meant to be a scientific textbook, historical chronology, or geographical map. It is a bit of all the above, but again, that is not the primary purpose of the book. The purpose is so you will see that Jesus has been the answer from day one, and He will be the only answer when history as we know it winds down to its final prayer.
If we love Jesus, we will want to know everything about Him. We will want to understand the most intimate details of what it means to live in community with God and to reflect His glory in everything we do. Read your Bible slowly. Ingest what you are reading and see God’s redemptive story in whatever you are reading. Find Jesus on the page. Marvel at His consistency, faithfulness, and constant sacrifice on our behalf. God’s Word is not about us because we aren’t worthy. Only God is. The next time you pick up your Bible, do it with the expectation of meeting Jesus and getting to know Him better. That’s why we should read God’s Word. It’s not about finding ourselves in the story, it’s about finding the One who the story is about.