“Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near.” Revelation 1:3
John is commanded to write down what he sees 12 times in the book of Revelation. As Revelation 1:3 makes clear, the purpose of writing it down was so that it could be read. But this does not just apply to the Book of Revelation. Every book of the Bible is the “revelation” of God’s word and has been written down so that it could be read. In his gospel John says that he has written these things so that we may believe that Jesus is the Christ and that we would have life in His name. (John 20:31) This is true of every book of the Bible. God even wrote the 10 Commandments Himself on tablets of stone so that they could be read and obeyed.
The church is built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets. The prophets wrote down the Old Testament and the apostles wrote the New Testament, again, so that it could be read, believed, and obeyed. The growth of the early church and spread of the kingdom through the Middle Ages was directly related to the availability of the written word that people could read. One of the primary purposes of the monks and missionaries who evangelized Europe was to teach the people to read so that they could read the word of God. Of course, copying the Bible was a long, painstaking process but it was absolutely necessary for the advancement of the kingdom and the conversion of pagan Europe. When the printing press was invented one the very first things printed was the Bible. Now, 550 years later the Bible is by far the most printed book in history. The Bible was meant to be read.
There is something important about reading. One of the great blessings of technology, like podcasts or audio books, is that you can listen to something while you are doing something else. The negative, of course, is that you are actually doing something else. Your concentration is not on what you are hearing. This means you are not fully engaged in what you are hearing, and good information is easily missed or forgotten. Don’t get me wrong, hearing is good. Revelation 1:3 also tells us that those who hear the word are blessed as well. But we cannot be hearers only. We must also read.
The great blessing of reading is that you really can’t do anything else. It absorbs your attention and your focus so that other things must wait. Your mind is engaged in a way that it cannot be when you’re listening to a podcast, for example and mowing the lawn. We receive input from all our senses, but it is no accident that the Lord wants His word written, so that it can be read.
Today’s meditation is just a reminder to read. Don’t give up on the discipline of reading, and it is a discipline. It takes more effort than listening. Read the word. Read it a lot. Read large portions of it. Read small portions and meditate on it. Read good books too. Read lots of good books. Read theological books, devotional books, fiction books, poetry, history. Reading is an essential part of our spiritual growth. It’s not just a discipline, it is a spiritual discipline. It is a gift from God to help us mature in Christ and extend His kingdom, bringing every thought captive to the obedience of Christ who is the Word.
His mercy endures forever!
Pastor Flynn