2 Categories of Questions to Ask When Reading the Bible
Do Not Read Passively
It's very important when you read the Bible to ask questions of the text. The worst thing you can do is read it passively or thoughtlessly because then your reading will be unprofitable. You won't get the benefit out of it that you could.
So you want to come to the Bible with two kinds of questions, and you've got to get them in the right order. The first set of questions are factual questions. Ask What is Jesus saying here? Who is he saying it to? Why is he saying this or why is he doing that? What does this tell me about who Jesus is and what he's about—his mission? With these questions you're just really focused on getting the facts, the data, and the history of the text.
Then you want to move to a personal set of questions, and it's important you don't start there. Ask What does this mean to me? It's really important you start with the facts and the truth and then you can ask What does this mean for me? What does this tell me about myself? If I'm in that story and I'm the man or the woman Jesus is talking to, what does it tell me about my sin? What does it tell me about my world? What does it tell me about Jesus? What does it tell me about salvation? What does it tell me about grace?
Meeting with Jesus
David Murray
This reading plan introduces children ages 6–12 to Jesus Christ over the course of a year, working through the 4 Gospel narratives and what they have to teach about the Savior of the world.
You want to come to the Bible with these two sets of questions: factual and personal. If you do that, your Bible reading will be a lot more interesting. Therefore it will be more stimulating and make you want to do it again and again. Above all, you will meet Jesus in a way that you wouldn't if you just were very passive and bored as you were reading. You will get personal profit from it and you will grow spiritually. The ultimate stimulant to ongoing Bible reading occurs when you are sensing spiritual blessing and growth—and questions are the key to that.
David Murray is the author of Meeting with Jesus: A Daily Bible Reading Plan for Kids.
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