There are two bits of spiritual advice that are often given to young Christians who desire to grow in their faith. The first is the advice to pray regularly and the second is to read the Bible regularly.
The first piece of advice is bang on target! The second, I believe, hits a little wide of the mark…
It's not just about reading…
Let me try to illustrate my point: If you want to learn to fly airplanes, then you can read as many books on the subject as you like, but until you actually fly a plane you’re not really much of a pilot. And if you want to play rugby, you can read the official rule book as many times as you like, but until you actually play the game, well, you’re just not a rugby player.
I think that we need to understand the spiritual discipline of Bible reading in a similar light. Reading the Bible is not an end in itself. In fact, merely reading the Bible as an end itself can be a highly deceptive exercise. It can be done in the coziness of our lounge rooms, in the safety of our small groups, in the serenity of the outdoors, or in the comfort of our favourite café. But what does this achieve in and of itself?
It's also about doing
Actually doing as the Bible says, on the other hand, means stepping outside of our comfort. It requires faith, courage, sacrifice, discipline and whole lot of risk. It begins to depend on that other spiritual discipline, prayer! It shows that we've actually understood what we've read. Now, isn't this more pleasing to God?
To quote James 1: 22, “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says“.
Now, of course when we read the Bible we find that it contains much more than instructions and commands for us to physically perform. Through reading the Bible, for example, we may come to know God. But, I would argue that getting to know God is actually to do just as the Bible says!
To finish off then, I’d like to offer two pieces of spiritual advice for young Christians desiring to grow in their faith. Of course there is much more that we could say on this topic, but here's a start: First, pray regularly to your Father in heaven! And secondly, do as your Father says through His personal word to you, the Bible (of course, you will only know what the Bible says if you read it regularly!).