Reading vs Doing the Bible

Reading the Bible is the equivalent to looking at pictures of a beautiful place. You can see the essence of the landscape. Rolling hills are visible. A sunrise or sunset is captivating and beautiful in print. You can see water flowing in a creek, a tree weathered by a storm and a cloud passing by overhead. But there is still something missing.

Doing what the Bible says is the hike in. It’s the sweat you perspire. It’s the cramps in your legs. The dizziness of the altitude. It’s the smells of the pine and the flowers and the rot and the wildlife. It’s the sounds of the following water, and the wind between the peaks. It’s the cold of the water contrasted with the heat of the sun. It’s the quenched thirst of a drink after a long hard push. It’s the reward of the view unobstructed by the edge of a frame and the general distractions of life. It’s hard and painful and beautiful and awe inspiring and it’s what makes life worth living.

People ask us all the time, why. Why do you do what you do? Where do you get the energy? Why now? Here is our belief. We can sit in a row, at a church and “feel” the gospel. We can listen to a worship set and get goosebumps and feel the Holy Spirit in the place. We can listen to a pastor preach the Word and bring the stories to life. But there is still something missing.

It isn’t until you feel the worn hands of the widow who works tirelessly to care for her children. You experience the darkness of a village without electricity for light. The weak embrace of a child who has not had a complete meal in days. You smell the smells of a developing world that is raw, in your face, and unmistakable. We do what we do, but it is what we are told to do and it makes life worth living.