Reading scripture is not for the perfection of our belief systems. It is more than a moral compass; more than principles on which to live. Reading the Bible is to move us toward Jesus. Paul tells us that “Christ is the end of the law” (Romans 10:4). The word “end” is the Greek “telos” which means completion or end toward which the law moves. Your Bible reading is to bring you out at Jesus. But we also read that Jesus taught us in the Great Commandment that love is the end of the whole scriptures. Paul tells us that “The whole Law is fulfilled in one word, in the statement, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (Galatians 5:14 NASB), (See also Romans 13:9-10). Christ and love perfectly dovetail together as the end to which everything points. Christ is the incarnation of God, who is Love. Yes, we read it “for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness”, for our equipping for good works” (2 Timothy 3:16-17), but the primary thing that is supposed to be happening is that we read it for Christlikeness, that we too might embody the love of God.
Father, teach us a contemplative reading of scripture to the end that we might not only see Jesus, but that we would become Christlike. Pour out Your love within our hearts through the Holy Spirit You have given to us (Romans 5:5). May Your Spirit shape us like Jesus as we soak in Your Word. Amen!
