I think it’s pretty cool, actually: it just goes to show that you can read the entire Bible through many different lenses and learn about different parts of life. God has a lot to say about different things in His word, and I wonder what the next focus-Bible will be. And it will probably mean some people will have a dozen Bibles each with a different theme. At least it will encourage people to read the Bible more and engage with it and apply it to their everyday life, which is the aim of these first two. They have highlighted passages that show what God has to say about stewardship and poverty & justice and how important it is based on how often He talks about it.
I am just amazed at how much is in the Bible. We all know that we can read a passage and it will give us a message the first time, and then a completely new message or insight the next time. There is so much going on, so much being said and revealed that I really think it is helpful for these theme-focused Bibles and Bible studies to tie some of the lessons together for us. We may read one passage on our own and think “Oh wow, that’s cool,” but when a person or organization takes the time to look through the whole Bible and pick out all the verses that deal with the same idea and highlights them for you, we can think, “Oh my gosh, this is incredible!”
We could all use help in studying God’s word: it’s way too deep and broad for anyone to look through it alone and hope to get a lot out of it. With the insight and guidance of others who have studied for a long time and have bundled verses together by topic, we can find lessons more easily and grow spiritually, and it never hurts to build community around Bible study!
The way I see it, there’s no need to rebuild the wheel when it comes to studying the Bible: if someone has an insight to offer about a theme they found, why not hear what they have to say (or more correctly, what they can show that the Bible has to say) rather than read the Bible alone and try to figure it out? No human has enough time in life to read the Bible so thoroughly as to learn everything it has to say and teach, so we should feed off of each other’s insights.
That’s not to say that we should never read the Bible on our own to hear what God has to say to us and that we should just trust every Bible study and explanation that we hear—of course we should be familiar with the Bible enough to be able to discern when someone is just fabricating meaning, or at least be willing to look into something ourselves if we are skeptical about someone else’s interpretations—but this is a form of engagement that encourages us to read in the first place. If you won’t read unless you have some guidance, then find guidance! Ask a friend if there is a Bible study person or plan that they particularly like or find helpful and use it. Tackling the Bible alone can be overwhelming, so much so that you may just decide it’s too much and stop completely. That is why we need help and why I think Bible studies and focus-Bibles are a good idea.
I haven’t gotten either the Green Bible or the Poverty and Justice Bible, but I hope they are able to encourage others to read thoughtfully with the intention of gaining insight into God’s desires for the way we live in this world, and that they encourage discussion, further study, and above all, application. Because we all know the Bible isn’t just about theory and theology, it’s also about action.
For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also. –James 2:26
For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also. –James 2:26
