In growing older, one of the phrases I’ve given more credence says, “You’re missing the forest for the trees.” In other words, you’ve become so focused on the details that you fail to see the big picture—and you end up missing the point.
Flectio puts great emphasis on regularly spending time in God’s Word, but simply reading the Bible is not the end game. It’s not about having a lot of Biblical knowledge, or being able to quote important passages. And it’s certainly not about a legalistic need to check-off a task from your “be a good person” checklist.
The reason you spend time in God’s Word is so you can know God more.
Not know more about God; there is a huge difference here. When we make the decision to follow Christ, the “big picture” purpose is to be drawn into a deeper relationship with Jesus; that through us God would be glorified and others would commit to knowing Him as well. So, we prayerfully spend time in God’s Word to know Him, just as you spend time with your friends or your kids to grow closer. And as you grow closer to Jesus, you become more like Him.
I wrote earlier, “In it. Know it. Live it.” Reading your Bible regularly is the “In it.” Becoming familiar with what it says is the “Know it.” These are the trees. But the forest is to “Live it.” And we emphasize spending time in God’s Word to help you live it.