Bible in a year?
Well, it’s February. You know what that means. It means that another large group of Christians have already failed at reading the Bible in a year. So here’s three reasons why a Bible in a year plan may not be the best for you. *DISCLAIMER: This is just my OPINION about what MOST Christians should do based on my understanding of the Bible.
1. The Bible is ancient middle-eastern meditation literature, not a blog you skim through (like this one)
Bible in a year plans help familiarize us with scripture, which is a good thing. However, we need to realize that we have our whole lives to read the Bible – meditating on each book and translation over and over. Why not take your time to be intimate with scripture? In our culture, we’re used to skimming through blog articles without really reading them. I’ve been guilty of doing that as well. In Bible-in-a-year plans, you need to read large portions of scripture and depending on your daily habits, you may be forced to skim through quickly in order to finish on time. This is the opposite of how people have been reading the Bible for thousands of years, because of the fact that the Bible is ancient meditation literature.
2. The Bible is a means to formation, not an end in itself.
Bible-in-a-year plans may not allow for margin or flexibility in other spiritual practices because we’re so consumed with just one of them – Bible reading. Personally, through slowing down to read the Bible, I’ve been able to read supplementary books from Christian thinkers like A.W. Tozer to Francis Chan. Both of these authors would probably want me to read the Bible way more than others of course, so I make sure to prioritize the Bible. But having the time in the day and week to practice silence & solitude, prayer, fasting, and other disciplines to abide with Christ is also important in the life of an apprentice of Jesus. I’ve met people who’ve read through the Bible each year, however, they’ve showed little to no evidence of spiritual formation. I think we’ve all met a few Christians like that. The scripture’s goal is to form us into the image of Jesus. If that’s not happening, then something needs to change – and your Bible-in-a-year plan isn’t looking too good.
3. The Bible is communal literature, not designed for private “quiet time.”
I know, I know. It sounds bad when I say it out loud, but before you you call me a heretic, let me explain. Here’s a fact: the Bible was designed to be read in communities of like-minded believers. Because the Bible is communal literature, wouldn’t it be difficult to find others to read with because of the quantity reading. (Online “accountability groups” isn’t the same). Now, there’s nothing wrong with a “quiet time” with your Bible alone by yourself. But we need to understand that this concept it quite new to Christianity and Judiasm. For most of the Bible’s history, the story was passed down through a collectivist community gathered together for formation. We need to start reading the Bible how it was designed. Why not have a plan in which others can follow along to read with you and have regular gatherings to talk about what was read. In my opinion, it’s better to read one book of the Bible a year with friends than the whole Bible each year by yourself.
Still not convinced?
So those are my three reasons why you shouldn’t read the Bible in a year. Oh, you’re still not convinced? Well, here’s a hard pill to swallow: If I was a betting man, I would bet that you’re going to fail. I’m not a pessimist. I’m a realist. The American Bible Society says that only 9% of Christians read their Bible daily. Since you need to read large sections of the Bible every day, and only 9% actually do, then that means the odds are against you to actually finish the Bible in just one year. So most likely, you will get frustrated when you do get behind and just quit since it’s very difficult to catch up.
A possible solution
I’m sorry to be so opinionated in this blog, but I do have a solution! Here’s the hard part though – I don’t think there’s a one-size-fits-all solution for everyone. As long as you make scripture reading a rhythm of your daily life as well as making it a discipline with your church community, I think you just have to experiment with it. For me, I read my physical Bible in the morning for study and then listen to my favorite audio Bible App, Dwell, throughout the day so I can be constant in meditating on God’s Word. I’ve also created a Bible reading plan that goes through the New Testament and the Psalms every year and the Old Testament once every three years. I think that this a great fit for many of those who reasonate with my thoughts written here. So come along the journey with me and check out the reading plan by CLICKING HERE.
This isn’t meant to discourage anyone from reading the Bible in a year, however, I hope this gives people freedom to embark on this long journey of reading scripture more intimately. Again, I think that this Bible reading plan combines both intimacy and familiarity with scripture, but it may not work for everyone. I personally think that we should look at reading scripture as people to be formed after Jesus, not just achieving “goals“. Goals are targets that we stop after we achieve them, but formations are deep character development that only come from the slow, daily meditation with God’s Spirit. The power and presence of God works itself out in our lives over a long period of time through every day faithfulness.
Realistic Bible Reading Plan
Do you still think you can do it? Well, if you think you can, then I have three reasons why you SHOULD read your Bible in a year.
3 reasons you SHOULD read the Bible in a year
1. The Bible is a unified story, not an encyclopedia. You shouldn’t use the Bible to just look up a few life verses while ignoring the rest of scripture. Reading the Bible in a year helps you be familiar with the whole story of the Bible at a faster rate.
2. You want to be familiar with the stories of scripture. Maybe it would be beneficial to read the Bible in a year because you didn’t grow up in a church that regularly shared the unified story of the Bible that leads to Jesus. This doesn’t mean that you’ll remember important details, but it does help some people.
3. You’re a type 3 on the Enneagram or a have the personality trait of a high achiever. Some have it built within their personality to finish their goals unlike most other people. You’re probably the 9% of people that actually read their Bible every day in the stats I mentioned above. If this is you, then go for it!
There you go! I hope this doesn’t give you an excuse to give up on reading your Bible. Rather, my goal here is to help you see other perspectives that can be beneficial to your spiritual formation. God bless!
Matt Garcia
Matt is the creator of this website and curates resources on spiritual formation. He is a husband of Jesika and a father of 4 children. He also helps lead a house church. Follow him on Instagram to see what he's up to.