Like I mentioned in First Things First, the Bible is only part of our relationship with God.  Above all, God wants to have a relationship with you.  Whether you're a man or a woman, think of it like a dating relationship or a friendship or your relationship with your parents and/or children.  God wants to have a relationship with you.  That's why we were created.

This is an important thing to remember when we're talking about the Bible.  God's not a best-selling author who just wants you to read His book.  He's not making money off your reading.  He's not getting pats on the back for his excellent prose or witty humor.  He wrote a letter to you.  Really, you can read this book as a letter to you.

So read the Bible for the same reasons you would read a letter from your friend or your boyfriend or your wife or your mother or your father.

Mike has written me several letters over the course of our relationship.  He doesn't expect me to spend fifteen minutes (or thirty minutes or an hour) each morning reading his letters.  In fact, he would probably look at me really weird if I did.  :) 

On the other hand, I love reading his letters sometimes.  I came across an old letter recently.  My mom was helping me clean out some boxes of paper, and we found this letter.  I stuck it right here in my bedrest basket.  You see, right now, while I'm on bedrest, I need my husband.  I love him so very much.  But he can't be here with me.  He needs to go to work.  But I still want to know what he thinks about me and our life and our family in his own words.  Almost daily, I pull out his letter, and I read it.

Why?  Because I miss him.  I want to know what he's thinking.  So, while he's not here, I go back to his letter.  Do you know what the first sentence says?

"Lindsay, this letter will surely do no justice to what you mean to me and how much I love you, but I will give it a try."

Do you know what?  I really think God probably could have written that sentence at the beginning of the Bible.  Mike's letter goes on to tell me what he remembers about our past, our present, and our future.  I love reading it, just because I love knowing more about Mike.  :)

That should be why we read the Bible.  When we are missing God or needing God, we have his letter.  We can go to that letter to learn how much He loves us, what He has planned for us, what He has already done for us, etc...

That's why we should read the Bible.  Not because someone tells us that reading the Bible for fifteen minutes every day will make us a good Christian.  Just because we want to know more about this God who loves us so much.

So, there it is!  Enjoy your letter!  :)