I’m not sure there is anything more vital to sustaining a vibrant walk with God than reading the Scriptures.

Readily will I admit that I have a strong affection for words. Yet no witty turn of phrase or lush poem or anything else I have read (or re-read) can compare to the collection of writings known as the Bible. Certainly one reason for my reverence of this particular set of writings is the mysterious draw it had upon my own life. In my BC (before Christ) days I experienced a desperate need to find something to give meaning to life. My search led me on a journey through the Torah, Buddhist texts, Quran, and just about anything I could get my hands on. At the same time I experienced a broad foray of Christian’s and their churches. One day I decided to read those writings for myself. So off I went to Borders on Michigan Avenue and bought a navy blue NIV student study Bible. Sitting in comfy seats overlooking the hustle and bustle of downtown Chicago from my lofty perch, I began the journey through God’s Word by wrestling with the beginning of time itself. This was before I was convinced that this book was anything more than human people writing about a fictional character, creating a fabric through which control of the masses was possible.

Day in and day out I would read this book and in doing so began to argue with a God I didn’t even believe in. I struggled to understand the genocide this God seemed to command. I was angered at the strange regulations and burdens placed upon this people, who it seemed this God was particularly interested in protecting and loving. By the time I got to the end of the book I found myself really liking Jesus, but not quite sure what to do with the rest of it.

From my other readings, I knew I wasn’t the only one who really liked Jesus, but who also wanted to discard the rest of the book. Gandhi is said to have liked Jesus, but not his people. And Thomas Jefferson took liberty to literally cut out parts of the Bible.

And yet, the more I read and thought about the Book as a whole, the more I realized that one could not pick and chose what one liked and at the same time claim to follow Christ Jesus. I came to believe that if one wanted to walk in the Way and truly follow Jesus Christ as the Messiah, then that came with the baggage of the rest of the Book.

For me then, and now, belonging to Jesus came with requirements. Salvation is freely offered to all by a loving God, and yet it cost my everything. And so it was that when I asked the God that I wasn’t even fully sure of to be the “captain of my soul” a transaction took my place in my heart and mind where I consented to relinquish control of the wheel and rudder. I’ve attempted mutiny in a variety of ways; lower or raising the sails when the Captain didn’t want me to, even trying to sneak on prohibited cargo, casting off what should have stayed on. Yet it was always His Word that rooted and grounded me. Or to keep with the analogy of the ship, to realize the highest rank I’d ever hold was first mate. The Captain was appointed for life!

When it comes to writing about the Spiritual Disciplines, it’s relatively easy for me to write about incorporating prayer, fasting or the others into your life. In part, I know what it’s like to force myself into these disciplines. Yet how do I encourage someone to engage in a discipline that I know can lead to as much confusion as it can lead to healing? I’ve seen it do both good, and cause some to turn away from God. I’ve gone through phases where it was a chore to read, and others where it was a treat that I couldn’t wait to partake in each day.

But there’s no getting around it … there’s no substitute for it … there is no other path I would entrust someone to, apart from the Bible.

For months now I’ve been wrestling with how to write about this topic, and finally I realize I will never arrive at perfect words to share.

And so these meager thoughts will have to do.

How do you view the Scriptures? Is there a substitute for them? Have you found yourself wanting to cut out parts? Are they vital for living a spiritually informed and fully submitted life?