Why the Bible Still Matters
Not as certainty, but as companion in a fractured world
Advent is a season of waiting, not certainty.
We slow down. We sit with darkness and light. We admit the world is not as it should be, and neither are we.
This is the season when ancient words can resonate again, not because they are tidy or comforting, but because they are honest.
The Bible belongs here. Not as a rulebook or a weapon, but as a library written for people who know what it is to wait, to hope, and to long for something more.
Welcome to today’s reflection, where I detail why I keep turning to this ancient library.
In the Bible, you will read countless times a brutal honesty about the human condition.
There is no sugar coating or spin. We lie, cheat, steal, and spend hours a day looking at a screen. We have a breathtaking propensity to make a mess of things. And the Bible? It doesn’t gloss over any of it. You’ll read phrases like “we’ve all fallen short,” “the heart is deceitful,” and one of my personal favourites, “Are you so dull?” straight from the mouth of Jesus.
However, sometimes, in the same breath, it also tells you that you’re crowned with glory and honour. You’ll lead nations, bring good news to the ends of the earth, and do greater things than even Jesus did (Yes, he really said that.).
This library holds both the truth of our struggle and the promise of our potential. We are a bizarre blend of skin, spirit, bone and soul. One moment, we’re launching pop stars into space, the next, we’re reading about a world leader who keeps human beings in cages. It’s maddening, mesmerising, and mysteriously beautiful how high and low we can go.