Rereading

Blessed are you, O Lord; teach me your statutes. With my lips I declare all the ordinances of your mouth. I delight in the way of your decrees as much as in all riches. I will meditate on your precepts, and fix my eyes on your ways. I will delight in your statutes, I will not forget your word.

Deal bountifully with your servant, so that I may live and observe your word. Open my eyes, so that I may behold wondrous things out of your law. Psalm 119:12-18 (NRSV)

Ken Claar, from Idaho, writes Christian mystery novels. As soon as he finishes a chapter, he edits it. Ken used to think he only needed to edit his chapters once. He also used to think that once he read through his Bible a couple of times, he didn't need to read it again because he had gotten all there was to get in each passage. Ken was wrong in both cases. He has learned that with each successive edit he finds something he has overlooked.

In a similar way, Ken has learned that he can read the Bible over and over and not tire of reading the same words. Each time Ken reads a passage again, he finds that the stories and his understanding are "new every morning" (Lam.3:23). As he rereads a verse, he often finds himself saying, "I never noticed that before." New insights, new thoughts, and new blessings come from the same verses he has read many times before.

So as he edits and re-edits his writing, read and reread his Bible, Ken gets new meanings and new ideas from both. An inexhaustible source of strength and peace, the Bible offers us new wisdom each day as we read and reread the powerful words.

This is so true. I am reading my Bible for the eighth year and I still find new insights and increase understanding. The Bible is truly a "living word".

Prayer: Dear Lord, help us to understand the importance of scripture, and fill our minds and hearts with a love for it, in Jesus' name. Amen.