Whole Life Whole Bible

Antony Billington with Margaret Killingray and Helen Parry, The Bible Reading Fellowship, $15.95

This is a book of 50 readings from the Bible taken from the Hebrew scriptures as well as the New Testament.

Part of its title is … on living in the light of scripture … and this is the path the authors have tried to lead the reader along.

A verse or more of scripture is followed by a commentary on that reading, which then leads to a guide for further reflection and action.

The writers believe that God’s word has to be lived and absorbed before being passed onto others. It has to be part of our everyday life, from getting up in the morning, through all the actions a day brings, to going to bed at night.

God’s words are not stories that we pass onto others as did the raconteurs of old. They are living entities, we have to be living them to show others, not just tell them.

This is what the disciples did; they lived the word of Jesus before they wrote his story. They themselves had to be convinced of the verity of Christ’s word before they could pass the truths along to others.

We ourselves have to live in the light of God’s word, not shine a torch ahead of us for others to follow, but to be the light. To be at peace with being a child of God, taking our every step with our hand in the hand of God.

This is what this book can help us achieve. An academic study of the scriptures is a fascinating journey but it does not give us the timelessness of God’s word or the faith to walk the path. We have to do that by living the light of the word every day.

Whole Life Whole Bible is an excellent resource for helping us along this path.

Lyn Housen