Is it really just fiction?
- Michaela Jane
- May 2, 2018
- 3 min read
I went through a stage not to long ago where I had to sit down and decide what was a priority for me. I was spending all of my time reading books, not reading my Bible because it wasn't thrilling enough or adventurous enough or exciting. It felt like a chore...
My husband actually challenged me on this not too long ago. He felt as if I was putting all my emotion into these (let's be honest) pointless books. They weren't teaching me anything and I was just spending hours upon hours obsessing over these fictional characters who at the end of the day either got together with their prince or died. I went on an emotional rollercoaster, and for what purpose??
And so he challenged me
He introduced me to this thing called...
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Are you ready?
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Biblical fiction.
I know. Ground breaking right? No actually. It felt like that to me. But it seemed that I was the only person who didn't know about this genre...
#facepalm am I right??
But do you know what I found after a while? The Bible became thrilling, it became adventurous, and it became exciting. I was crying with these characters who, for the first time for me, came to life. I was celebrating when God reunited Joseph with his family, or when the Israelites were freed from Egypt, I cried with Jesus' disciples when he died and rejoiced when he rose again. What seemed like a fairytale, became real.
But then I started to chide myself because I found that I wasn't picking up my actual Bible. And I thought that that was awful. How bad of a Christian was I? Choosing fiction over what God has so gracefully given us?
I forced myself to open the pages and would struggle. Some days I wouldn't even think about it and punish myself by not allowing myself to read my fiction books.
But do you know what I learnt?
Baby steps are okay.
I went from not reading my Bible, to reading about the Bible - having it opened to me through fiction - and after a while, after my baby steps started to become adult steps, I found that I was actually craving Bible time as well. I wanted to know the actual story and I found myself so much more engrossed.
The Bible is there to teach us, it isn't a chore and it isn't a punishment. It is actually a blessing and everyone comes to that realisation in a different way. God used my love for books to show me that. And it took time but that's okay. Nothing happens over night.
I was walking to the bus stop today and I ended up just praying, excited for my bus ride where I had an hour of uninterrupted, no internet, Bible time. Just me and the book of Joshua. And so far, it's been my favourite part of today. It's usually my favourite part of the day, what I look forward to. And sometimes thats what you need to do. Find what works for you, you can't do what everyone else does because there is no set model. Some people do it before breakfast, or over breakfast, some at the end of the day. I find that if I don't do it somewhere like the bus where I am TOTALLY unplugged, I don't give it the time and attention it deserves.
So allow God to talk to you. Don't feel you have to be stuck in the motions and you are reading the Bible just to tick the box. The Bible is a gift. Allow God to reveal that to you in your own personal way.
Thats my challenge if you are stuck where I was. And if you are where I am now, how'd you do it? How did you maintain it? I'm still going through this process and I'd love to know your tips.
Until later,
Michaela.
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