Two Types of Readers

I once heard there are two types of readers in the world.

There are serious people who read. These are people who read books and then they gather together to talk about the books they have read. They seem to have great insights and criticisms of all the latest “best” authors. They know about and have read the great writers of the past and seem to always be able to pull out their names and insert them into any conversation. They are well read and it shows.

But the Serious Reader is the little boy who was sent to bed at 8 PM. He is upstairs in his bedroom with the covers pulled over his head. He has his flashlight out and is reading Robinson Crusoe because he just can’t put it down. It’s just too good.

When it comes to Bible reading many people approach it like serious people who read. They seem to know a lot about where things are in the Bible, what the latest is in Biblical interpretation, who the best authors about the Bible are, and so on. I once worked with a guy named Rocky. His knowledge of the Bible was amazing. His knowledge of the writings of the “Christian Fathers” was beyond anything I could achieve. But he didn’t know Jesus. He just knew writings. He was a Serious Person who reads.

We need a lot more Serious Readers of the Bible. People who read just to experience the stories. People who get caught up in the stories of Jesus. People who get out their flashlights and get under the covers and read their Bibles because they just can’t stop.