My parents tried to get our family to read the Bible in a year at least twice when I was a kid. We never finished. I anxiously counted the days when we’d get to Leviticus and the beginning of my Little League season, a combination of which always spelled doomed for our Bible reading plan. I’m quite certain that since my childhood my mother has read through the entire Bible in a year several times. I’m equally certain my father has not. And neither have I. I have $100,000 worth of theological education, and have never read through the entire Bible in a year, and I never plan to do so.
I would not say that reading through the entire Bible in a year is a waste of time. It is a helpful process for many people. It has simply never been useful, enjoyable, or spiritually formative for me.
At the beginning of 2024, I would like all Christian to know something: You don’t need to read the entire Bible in a year. In fact, you don’t need to read the entire Bible ever. Like, for real. Ever. You can never read the entire Bible and still love God and humankind and serve the Lord well.
For one, most Christians throughout history have not even had access to the scriptures, or the ability to read. Those women and men are not excluded from the kingdom nor are they some form of spiritual failures for their lack of reading. If they were okay, you’ll be okay.
Second, not everything in the Bible is applicable to you. For instance, I’ve never been to worship in a temple. That means, I can glean principles and appropriate postures of the heart and body about worshipping God, but the finite details, the precise ins and outs prescribed in scripture might be interesting, but perhaps not instructive. That is a a matter of interpretation and discernment.