As Catholics, God’s Word has to be important to us. I don’t mean important as we pay attention at mass while the readings are being read. I mean important as we spend time regularly studying God’s Word. We don’t merely read the Bible when it’s convenient for us. We make studying Scripture an event we pencil the rest of our schedules around. For the record, there’s a huge difference between reading and studying.
One of God’s favorite ways of communicating with us is through his Word. If we’re not making the Bible important in our lives, we’ll never experience the intimacy he wants to share with us. This Bible isn’t merely a history we’re to learn from. It’s also knowledge we should be growing towards. As a Bible nerd who converted to the Catholic Church a few years ago, I don’t think Catholics make the Bible as important as we should.
Let’s make demonstrating this as simple as possible. As you read along, can you name all of the Old and New Testament books of the Bible? Let’s make it even easier. As a Catholic, you surely know the seven books found in the complete Bible Protestants refuse to recognize, right? If you answered no to either of these questions, I encourage you to spend some time in prayer discussing this with God.
Yes, as Catholics, our traditions and the Church’s teachings are important. We need to be familiar with why we believe what we do. Still, if you want to experience the relationship with God you were created to know, God’s Word has to be a part of this.
If you’re unfamiliar with the Bible, there’s a ton of your identity you’re missing. That’s right, I said it. As a follower of Christ, Scripture is part of your makeup. It plays a role in who and Whose you are. Without a general knowledge and understanding of the Bible, you’re unable to truly comprehend the details of the Catholic faith. There are simply parts of who you are you’re never going to understand. Here, I’ll show you what I’m talking about. Read this verse and spend a few minutes meditating over it. I want your thoughts on the Scripture to be fresh in your mind.
Mark 1:17 And Jesus said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men.”
Plenty of us are familiar with this verse. Simon and his brother Andrew are casting their net into the sea. They weren’t simply fishing as we would. The two of them were commercial fishermen. It’s how they paid their bills. If the fish weren’t biting, life was rough for these two.
Jesus walks along and tells them, “Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men.” Obviously, Jesus was great with marketing and promotion. He approaches two professional fishermen and gives them an offer they can’t refuse. Men all throughout the United States will tell you this is the best verse in the Bible. Following the disciple’s lead is their excuse to escape to their favorite body of water every weekend.
Let’s look at this for a minute. Was Jesus simply throwing a bone he knew Simon and Andrew would bite on, or was there more to this statement? You have to keep in mind, these two brothers knew the Old Testament Scriptures. All Jewish men did at their age. It was something that was instilled in them when they were young. They would pick up on words, and their minds would go to a place in Scripture. So, when Jesus mentions “fishers of men,” these two’s minds begin racing.
They heard Jesus say this and knew God was getting ready to show up and show off. Unlike too many of us today, they were familiar with God’s Word. They heard this, and their thinking went straight to the Book of Jeremiah. Keep in mind, Jesus got their attention with “fishers of men.”
Jeremiah 16:15-17 Behold, I am sending for many fishers, declares the Lord, and they shall catch them. And afterward, I will send for many hunters, and they shall hunt them from every mountain and every hill, and out of the clefts of the rocks. For my eyes are on all their ways. They are not hidden from me, nor is their iniquity concealed from my eyes.
This is the perfect example of what can be missed without knowing God’s Word. What started looking as a simple invitation to do some serious fishing turns out to be something God’s prophets have spoken of. Knowing this, now it’s a little easier to understand why Simon and Andrew dropped everything and immediately began following Jesus.
Once they understood the significance of what Jesus was doing, they didn’t ask questions. They weren’t concerned with who else was going or how long it would take to get there. Simon and Andrew weren’t even worried about exactly where they were going. They knew what Jesus mentioned was prophesied, so they were all in. Without knowing Scripture and what he was referring to, these two men would have missed out on an opportunity to literally change the world.
Let that sink in for a minute. Are you starting to see the importance of not only reading but studying the Bible? What all have you missed out on because you were unable to recognize what God was trying to show you? The following are a couple of steps I have taken in the past that have helped me become much more familiar with God’s Word.
Use God’s Word as its Own Commentary
Sure, commentaries and study Bibles are excellent tools. I use more than one commentary daily. Still, the best commentary for the Bible is Scripture itself. That being said, if you’re going to take full advantage of this tool, you’ll need to be familiar with both the Old and New Testaments. Before rushing off to see what someone says about the Bible, what does it say about itself? We see a perfect example of this in Acts 1:16.
Brothers, the Scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit spoke beforehand by the mouth of David concerning Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus.
With the verse, we know what the Bible says about the Bible. While each book has a human author, it is the Holy Spirit speaking to us through them. We don’t have to search through commentaries or study Bibles for this information. God’s Word makes it perfectly clear what we are reading. While this is one of the most straightforward examples to identify, the Bible is filled with commentary about itself for us to use. Still, until we’re familiar with what we’re reading, this will never provide value for us.
The Difference Between Reading and Studying
I mentioned the significance of this earlier in the article. There’s a huge difference between reading and studying. For instance, you’re not going to study what I’m writing today. A quick read is all that’s needed. The same can be said with a novel or content found on social media.
That being said, when what we’re reading can produce effects in our lives, studying is needed. We need to have the ability to recall what we have learned in specific situations. Yes, my Bible is filled with notes and markings from ink pens and highlighters. This is how I study, similar to how I prepare for an exam in school.
When studying God’s Word becomes a priority, some questions need to be answered before getting started. Whatever book it is that you’re studying, who wrote it? Who is the human author? When was it written, and where was it written from? Who is the specific audience they were wanting to target? What message were they wanting to convey?
By answering these simple questions, we’re better able to keep Scripture in its proper context. As I mentioned earlier, it can also be a great help to use commentaries or devotionals to guide us through the Bible. If this is something you’re interested in, my new book can be found here. It’s a 90-day devotional that walks you through each of the four gospels in 90 days. It’s an excellent tool for studying the Bible instead of simply reading it.
Applying the Bible to Our Lives
This is where keeping God’s Word in its proper context comes into play. If you’re unable to answer the questions I just mentioned, you’ll never be able to apply the Bible the way the writer intended. It won’t bear fruit in your life.
You have to keep in mind, while the Bible should definitely be a part of how we live, it wasn’t written for you. Be careful with that. What I’m saying is, When Luke wrote his gospel and the Book of Acts, no, it wasn’t intended for someone in the United States to be reading in 2021. Luke had a particular audience he was attempting to reach.
Still, his words can be a part of who we are. They can play a role in molding and shaping us into the person we were created to be. However, if we’re not familiar with God’s Word, this is never going to happen.
