We listen to the Story not only so that we can love God more deeply but also so that we can love others more completely. Listening is intended to lead to action. Thus the “relational approach” to reading Scripture is also a “missional approach.” God speaks in Scripture so that “we will be the kind of people he wants and will live the way he wants us to live.” The goal of reading, according to 2 Tim. 3:16-17, is for us to engage in “good works.” McKnight argues that “If you are doing good works, you are reading the Bible aright. If you are not doing good works, you are not reading the Bible aright.”
