By Jade Angelo Gascon
Executive Assistant, On Eagle’s Wings Foundation

The Bible. Can't outlive it, can't live without it

The Philippine Bible Society announced in November last year that 60% of the respondents in an AC Nielsen survey admitted they don’t own a Bible. Of the 60%, 70% are youth! This is not alarming if the Bible is just another storybook for you. But for those who realize that the Bible is the only source of truth for man’s purpose and destiny, this survey result is a matter of life and death.

The 60% can’t be blamed (yet), though. I mean, who would prefer the Middle Eastern allegories of “Song of Solomon” over the teenybopper sensations of “Twilight?” Who would settle with David and Goliath when Harry’s wizardries have become so fantastic he could take on Voldemort any given time already? Or, say, read about Isaiah’s prophetic visions instead of the morning tabloid’s horoscope snippets?

The problem with the Bible is that people don’t know what it is. General knowledge has it that it’s a holy book. So what? It also seems not only to be a stranger to many but, worse, an estranged stranger—unread and reserved for recitation only when sacrosanct events are in order.

I move that we imagine they're the main characters of Song of Solomon. Who's with me?

The problem with people who have problems with the Bible is that they don’t know its purpose. Why in the world would I read this and not Coelho or Murakami or the embattled Carlo J.?

This poses a challenge for Christians everywhere to make the Bible known and make it known for what it truly is: That the Bible is not to substitute any book or material we read for whatever purpose; this is for the pure reason that the Bible is not meant for reading. Instead, it is meant for meditating.

Meditation in the Christian sense is neither acrobatics nor physical therapy. It is sincere, contemplative devouring of God’s Word, through which we connect and converse with His Spirit. When we meditate the Word of God, we see ourselves, our world and our circumstances in the light of His will, His purpose and His honor.

We're not talking about this

Don’t expect exciting Dan Brown twists or Stephen King freak shows (there are occasional twists and freaks in the Bible, though). You’ll just get disappointed and bored. To experience joy in Bible reading, one must realize that it’s not for reading but for conversing. Because in the Bible, the main characters are God and the reader: God is the narrator who speaks true stories to the reader whose response is a matter of life and death.

“I tell you the truth, those who listen to my message and believe in God who sent me have eternal life. They will never be condemned for their sins, but they have already passed from death into life,” John 5:24.

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