Why It Is Important to Study the Bible

As Christians we are to “live by faith not by sight” (Hebrews 11:1). Also we are to “trust in the Lord with all your heart…don’t be wise in your own eyes…for it will be health to your flesh and strength to your bones” (Proverbs 3:5-8). How can we live by faith and trust with our whole being if we do not know whom we are trusting or having faith in? According to 2 Timothy 3:16, the Bible is “God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness”. In other words, the Bible is God’s very own words to us.

I don’t know about you but there are so many questions that I have in life such as, what is my purpose in life? What do I look for in a husband? How do I be a good parent? How do I be a good friend? What is success and how do I get there? Is there really life after death? How do I get to Heaven? Where did I come from? Why is the world filled with such evil? God has an answer to every one of these questions. All we have to do is search and believe.

There was a man who was a husband, a father and a pastor. He had taught his son everything he could while he was young. And he was so proud of all his son’s accomplishments growing up. The son grew up to become a pilot of a very big aircraft. The father had an opportunity to fly in the cockpit with his son in control! The father sat there with pride as he watched his son flying this big aircraft. He began to think of all things he taught growing up and how flying was one thing he did not teach him. All of a sudden the father realized he was not in control and had to trust his son. The weather started to get rough. The plane was rocking back and forth and jerking all around. There was a grey mist of clouds in front of them and they could see lighting. The father began to be afraid and he asked his son if he was in control?

The son replied, “I am fully in control of this plane!” There was a sigh of relief from his father and then the son said jokingly, “Just kidding!” The father became more afraid.

After seeing the look on his father’s face the son explained, “Dad, do you remember when I was little and you taught me that we are to live by faith and not by sight? In aviation school they teach us to fly by faith not by sight! I am relying on all of the instruments that are in front of me to be my eyes when I can not see.”

The father asked, “And how did you learn to use these instruments”?

“They give you stacks of books that you have to read and memorize. And they take you through a series of training methods through simulators and then small aircraft. You see the majority of crashes are with small aircraft because they don’t have all of the instruments that I have. They have to mainly rely on their sight which often tricks us”, the son said. Using what he had learned the son brought the plane down for a safe landing. The Father had found a new pride for his son!

Our lives are just like flying an airplane! We need to read, study and practice God’s words so we can use what we know and not fly blind!