Asking yourself: “What is this text asking of me today?”
You can read the Bible for years, understanding a lot and changing very little. The difference often comes down to a question: what is this text asking of me, today? This quest invites you to ask it after your reading.
What it looks like in your day
After reading a passage, stop for thirty seconds and ask yourself the question in three versions:
- What does this text say about God? A truth to believe.
- What does it say about me or about people? A reality to acknowledge.
- What does it ask me to do, or not to do, today? A step to take.
An example. You read the parable of the good Samaritan. What does it ask of you today? Perhaps: “Don't walk past the colleague who looks exhausted.” Or you read in the letter to the Colossians that Paul invites us to put on kindness and humility (Colossians 3:12): the question becomes “Whom can I be gentle with today, when I am often curt?”
A single action is enough. Not five, one. Write it down or remember it. During the day, come back to it: “This is what God asked of me this morning.” In the evening, look at whether you were able to do it.
If you are short on time, keep only the last question. If you are a beginner, some passages will seem to ask nothing: in that case, simply note what you learn about God. If you are shy, you can answer in writing.
What the Bible says
Jesus himself insists on moving from listening to practice. He asks his listeners a direct question:
“And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?”
What is at stake is not the amount of knowledge, it is the obedience of faith. James says it even more plainly:
“But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.”
Notice the danger: you can deceive yourself by believing that listening is enough. The Bible doesn't despise reflection, but it wants reading to lead somewhere. And Jesus' promise gives a good reason to get started:
“If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them.”
He doesn't say “You are happy if you know,” but “happy are ye if ye do them.” The promised happiness comes through putting it into practice.
Pitfalls to avoid
Falling into legalism. Asking “What is this text asking of me?” doesn't mean looking for a list of demands to feel guilty about. The text first tells you what God has done for you, and then invites you to respond to that love. Jesus doesn't judge your obedience to fill you with anxiety: he invites you to walk with him.
Looking for a spectacular answer. Often, what the text asks is very simple: forgive, say thank you, call someone, stop a bad habit, pray earlier. A small obedience is a real obedience.
Applying the texts to others. It is easy to read an exhortation while thinking of your colleague or your spouse: “That one is for him!” The question is about you, not about others.
Making the text say what it doesn't say. To know what it asks, you first have to understand what it says. If you hesitate, reread the context: who was it addressed to? In what situation?
Feeling guilty if you didn't succeed. One day you will apply it, another day you won't. Grace covers your failures. Simply ask God to help you start again.
Tomorrow, after your reading, ask yourself this question in one sentence. Choose one action. Just one.