Have you ever snorkeled or been scuba diving? I have, but not in water. I know that sounds strange, but then again, it’s me. So, my explanation will not be a simple one.
For me, it began when I looked over a newsletter from my church. In it, there was a Bible reading plan in which you could read the whole entire Bible in a year’s time. It was listed a week at a time and each day had a long list of chapters to read. I often wondered how many people were participating. Then one day a thought popped into my head: “You’ve never read the Bible straight though from cover to cover.” I’m talking from Genesis to Revelation.
While I’ve read many a verse in Sunday school, church, vacation Bible school and Bible studies over the years, there were some that I had never seen. There was only one thing to do. Yep, read the whole entire Bible straight through. My next step was to go to the reading list for that day. After I read through a couple of chapters, I felt as if I had snorkeled my way through the Bible verses. I wanted more depth than just saying I had read the words. That meant I was going to have to dive into the Bible. Scuba dive that is.
Before we proceed any further, I want to make sure everybody understands the differences between them. Snorkeling entails using a surface tube to breath. While doing this, you have to skim the water’s surface so the tube stays above the water line. Most people wear goggles too so they can see what is underneath them as they snorkel. My daughter Sara and her husband Jordan went snorkeling in the Atlantic Ocean while on their honeymoon. They absolutely loved seeing the beauty underwater. Scuba diving, on the other hand, requires the use of a self-contained breathing apparatus. For this reason, it has the huge advantage of allowing you to go down deeper into the water.
To me, reading many chapters a day was like skimming the surface of God’s word. While I could see the beauty of it, I was still not as close to it as I could get. That meant I was going to have scuba dive deeper into the Bible. To do this in a steady manner, I limited my chapter reading to three at a time. After I read each chapter, I did some research on it. That being said, I was careful in that I only used sources that I trusted. These were people and/or organizations that had a good reputation and explained their interpretations and even those of others. What I found most interesting was learning about the culture during biblical times. All of these made the words come alive in ways I had never before experienced.
Are you wondering how long it took me to read the Bible from Genesis 1:1 to Revelation 22:21? Obviously, it was more than a year. I started in January 1 of 2022 and I finished on May 16, 2025. Now I can say that I have read all of the Lord’s Word.
“Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wonderous things out of thy law.” Psalm 119:18 (KJV)
I think this verse is telling us that God’s word is so much deeper and richer than we realize. Just reading the words isn’t enough. If you truly want to behold the wonders, pray before you read, and also do some research. It’s an adventure that can change your life if you let it.
Maybe I will read through the Bible again. Who knows what kind of hidden treasure I'll find this time.