When people see God’s Word is livable, God's Word becomes legible

An honest truth: most people won't read their Bibles today.

Instead, they'll read you.

You - the Christian, the church-goer, the disciple – are the one they associate with the Bible. They’ll watch you and make a snap judgment as to whether or not the Bible is worth their time. They’ll note how you go about your day - your interactions and reactions, your disagreements and duties, your roles and responsibilities. Then, and only then, will they consider opening the Bible for themselves.

Sound like a tall order? It is. One that only those with a Savior can withstand and thrive in.

Here’s the question: will the people reading you encounter this Savior?

4 types of Bible readers

Jesus told a story in Matthew 13 that describes four different kinds of Bible-readers that non-Bible-readers are bound to encounter:

• No trace of the word (Matthew 13:19) - This reader has heard or taken in the word, but hasn’t understood it. Jesus says the evil one has “snatched it away.” Interestingly, this seed fell along the path. Sadly, the seed of the word doesn’t inform this person’s path.

• Shallow roots in the word (Matthew 13:20-21) - The word has been heard, and heard with joy by this reader/hearer. Without soil to cultivate growth, the word can’t take root. The result? Trouble overwhelms them, and they “fall away” from what God had begun.

• The word choked by the burdens of life (Matthew 13:22) - We could describe the soil of this hearer’s life as crowded. It’s full of attention to worries, concerns, burdens, and wealth. With that much going on, the seed is choked by all the other stuff with stronger root systems.

• A fruitful soul (Matthew 13:23) - Finally, there is the hearer that receives the seed of the word and understands it. Not only do they understand it, but growth occurs. Not by their doing, but that of the Savior. And the outcome isn’t just a crop…it’s a bumper crop: up to 100x what was originally sown.

When it gets livable, it gets legible

This last type is the fruitful Christian.

Their life is rooted in the Savior that brings the growth. They carry fruit with them wherever they go. And that fruit nourishes those they encounter. They know the word lived out in their own lives is what God uses to bring the word into the lives of others.

Which is why these fruitful Christians recognize the word can’t stay in our Sundays. It has to get into our weekdays - where those who read our lives are.

Try it out. Open the word. Ask the Savior to make it livable in your life. Then watch God’s word become legible for those who happen to be reading you.