My daughter Jordan is in her first play – a junior-high version of “Grease.” She and her play-mates have been rehearsing for over 12 weeks. Last week she excitedly told me they were now “off book” – meaning they were no longer having to carry the script and read the lines off the script during rehearsal. They had practiced enough that the lines had been absorbed by their minds and hearts and the kids were now acting the story, performing the story.
I was struck by the metaphor – there is a point at which you must transition from merely learning the script to living the script. The goal is to get off book. At some point, you must move from reading the story to performing the story.
This reminds us of something important regarding Bible study and the purpose of Scripture. Learning Scripture is absolutely critical. But the real goal is to live Scripture. Reading the Story is wonderfully enjoyable. But we must eventually move to performing the Story in our lives and in our congregations.
This calls for a way of reading Scripture that is less informational and more transformational. It necessitates an approach to the Bible which allows the “script” to be absorbed into our minds and hearts. It is one thing to complete the daily Bible reading plan. It is one thing to know the names of the biblical books and the right positions on doctrine. But it is something entirely different to read in such a way that we end up living out what we’ve read, peforming what we’ve read.
For me, journaling about what I’ve read and Lectio Divina are two practices that help me get “off book.” How about you? What have you found to be the best way to get Scripture off the page, into you heart, and into your life?
