Recently, I’ve been reading news reports on local bookstores closing. But, I think, to say that these closures are a harbinger of doom is an exaggeration. Didn’t the National Library Board report that adult reading had increased?1 And that the number of adults who read more than once a week had increased from 88 percent in 2018 to 95 percent in 2021?
As an academic librarian, I work a lot with the written word. I work with students and academics to guide them in searching, finding, and deriving insights and knowledge from the wide range of scholarly sources of books, journal articles, research papers, dissertations, and the like.
We read a lot. Reading is a given and it is expected in academia.
When I was searching to know Jesus, it was obvious that I should read the source of truth—God’s Word.
Reading about Gethsemane broke my heart. Reading about how the Son of God, the perfect man, chose to obey His Father to die for my sins showed me what true love really meant. I went on to read some more and did inductive Bible study; the power of the Word worked mightily and the eyes of my heart were opened.
One day, as I read a news commentary, I started using a pen to write questions on the margins of the paper—“What do you mean?”, “Whose agenda is this?”, “Why is this happening now?”, “Why should this be so?”, “What if this other thing happened instead?”—and so on. By the time I finished reading, there were scribblings all over the page.
The written word is just text. It functions to convey meaning or a message. But I found I no longer accepted what I read. I didn’t necessarily doubt what I read; it was more a sense of curiosity and the desire to dig deeper. Surely, there is another perspective. Surely, there is more to the story.
The exercise of questioning the text while I read was my way of interacting with the author and his thoughts. It was like a conversation in which he explained his thoughts while I questioned them. It wasn’t always about the answers to my questions; rather, it was the “activeness” of questioning which gave “life” to the text, leading to a better understanding of the bigger picture.
I can thus totally appreciate what the Bereans were experiencing when they “received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true” (Acts 17:10-12). They had an earnest desire to deconstruct, to dig deeper, to confront what they were reading to finally find the truth. And the Eureka moment that came about must have been powerful and life-changing.
Hebrews 4:12 tells us that God’s Word is “living and active” (ESV). I love the word “living” because it aptly describes how every time I read God’s Word, God speaks to me for that particular time, place, and circumstance. It is a conversation between me and the Author of the Word.
The questions flow—“What does this mean?”, “Why did you have to let this happen, Lord?”, “Was this the result of his sin?”, “What if he had come to you, Abba Father?” and so on. All 5W 1H (What, Who, Where, When, Why and How) questions are asked to inquire of the Lord.
Isaiah 55:11 tells us that the word of God, which goes out of His mouth, will never return to Him empty. Something happens. Something is returned to God. When I read God’s Word, I return to Him: the hole which only God can fill, the stirrings of wonder, the smile, and the tears that come with “I know what you mean, Jesus. And I love you for it.”
Do we read because we have to? Or do we read because we want to? Are we only looking for the message, the knowledge, and the insights? Is reading God’s Word a process of God downloading His truth, and us working it into our lives so that we receive the outcome of spiritual maturity? When we turn to the original source—the only primary, authoritative source of truth—Jesus, the way, the truth and the life, do we merely accept everything He says?
In “great eagerness” we examine, we question, we ask, we seek, and we knock. The door opens for us to enter a conversation, a discourse, a fellowship with our Lord Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith. The conversation comes alive. The fellowship deepens. The heart softens. The reading continues.
1 National Library Board (2021). 2021 National Reading Habits Study on Adults. Singapore: National Library Board, p.13.
Lord, how precious is Your Word which gives us life. When we read Your Word, give us the eagerness to dig deeper to open our hearts to You, our Lord and Saviour. Show us Your truths to guide and direct us for Your kingdom glory.
Author: Wong Kah Wei
Wong Kah Wei has been an academic librarian for the past 38 years. Although she loves to read, she wishes she reads more widely. The book that gives her the most comfort is the Bible. The books that she enjoys are the detective stories of Lord Peter Wimsey written by Dorothy Sayers.
