I remember taking reading comprehension tests in school and wondered as I was reading the stories, why should this interest me? Seriously, this story is a made up story only for the purpose of taking a test. There is no validity to any of this. Why should I care why Sally talked to Tom if Sally and Tom do not exist. I mean, really, who gets paid to write these stories? Why is it important that I remotely remember anything about a story that is fake and I will never read about it in any other circumstance?

Now, of course, this was not the right attitude as it was a timed reading comprehension test. So, to curb my boredom, I pretended. I pretended that Sally was a longtime friend and I was reading one of her stories. I began to read as if I actually cared about the test. This is not anything I ever told my friends or the teachers, but it got me through the test and helped me to remember what I was reading. It also helped to keep me awake during the test!

I remember times I’ve read the Bible as if I were taking a reading comprehension test. I remember thinking as I read 1 Kings, really, who got paid to write this down? There are the genealogies, the rules of the Jewish people, the rituals that we don’t necessarily still follow to this day, the covenants that were made and the covenants that were broken. So much in the Bible is there, but why should this interest me? Sure, somewhere and somehow we are all created and directly linked to one another by Adam and Eve, but why do I need to know the stories? This happened centuries ago. Why is it important that I read this book?

Have you ever read one of those genealogies and just thought you’d skip to the next part of the chapter that had actual verses and not just X beget Y and Y beget Z? They really don’t seem to have much meaning as you read through them. Now, have you ever been presented with your own family genealogy and something inside you clicked? I had a funny thing happen to me a few weeks ago. I had to go to the doctor and his name was Dr. Sims. He asked where my husband was from because we had the same last name. We discovered both grandfathers were from Kentucky. I went for a doctor’s visit, but I left with his whole family’s history; literally!  He wrote it all down on my discharge sheet — a genealogy of sorts. We spent more time talking about family stories and reunions than we did about my visit. He was so excited as he just knew we were related somehow. We had a family connection.

I think we forget many times as we read the Bible that we, too, have a family connection. The Bible is not some old book with stories about random people. The stories of our great-great (and many more greats) grandfathers and grandmothers. They are our cousins, aunts, and uncles. Their blood is in us! If we allow the words to permeate our hearts and minds, we will realize that we struggle just like they did. We have rules and laws we have to follow just like they did. We have strength and faith just like they did. We have sorrow and sadness just like they did. We are connected. When we know who we are and where we come from we better know our purpose and mission. We learn from our ancestor’s past mistakes and their triumphs. We gather strength from their faith. You don’t have to pretend that “Sally” or “Tom” is a longtime friend because they are somewhere in the Bible waiting for you to hear their stories. I think you’ll be interested to find that when you read about those in the Bible, you will discover a bit more about yourself.  Discover yourself today!

© 2012 Susan M. Sims

Image courtesy of Keerati at freedigitalphotos.net

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