Introduction
The goal of instruction is love from a pure heart, a good conscience, and a sincere faith. —1 Timothy 1:5 CEB
The Artists and the Mountain
Imagine fifty expert artists forming a circle around a mountain, each creating art from their unique perspective and preferred medium. A sculptor. A painter. An abstract modern artist. When finished, no two pieces would be identical—and that would be the point. Each artist would bring their particular vision, skill, and vantage point in capturing something beautiful and uniquely true.
Now imagine fifty authors writing about "the loving mystery at the center of reality we call God" over hundreds of years, building on and disagreeing with those who came before them. Now you're beginning to understand what we're dealing with when we read this portable library we call the Bible.
No Single Right Way
There's no such thing as instruction manual for reading the Bible—no series of steps that guarantee correct interpretation. We are each unique readers bringing our own experiences to texts written by unique authors with their own contexts. What we bring to Scripture deeply impacts what we get out of it.
Whatever we're doing here, it's best to stay humble.
What you're about to read isn't going to be an instruction manual. It's more of a travelogue of my own explorations, complete with "Here be dragons" warnings for interpretations that have caused harm.
The Love Test
My biggest warning is this: If an interpretation of Scripture is not helping me become a more loving human being, it's a bad interpretation.
Biblical authors disagree about many things, so when they do agree, we should pay attention. Multiple voices across centuries declare that if you want to understand and fulfill the Scripture, you do so through love.
Paul writes, "All the Law has been fulfilled in a single statement: Love your neighbor as yourself" (Galatians 5:14).
James echoes this: "You do well when you really fulfill the royal law found in scripture, Love your neighbor as yourself" (James 2:8).
What did Jesus call the greatest commandment? You guessed it: loving God and loving neighbor.
Augustine put it well: if we interpret Scripture in a way that builds up love, we will not err. Conversely, if our interpretation doesn't build up love for God or neighbor, we don't yet understand Scripture.
Three Goals
The author of 1 Timothy in our verse above warns against teachers who focus on "myths and endless genealogies" that only cause "useless guessing games." Instead, biblical instruction should lead to three things:
- Love
- A good conscience
- A sincere faith
This means:
- If an interpretation pierces your conscience—makes you feel complicit in cruelty—it's bad teaching.
- If it forces you into insincere belief that disconnects you from your authentic self, it's poor interpretation.
- If it leads to hate, violence, or cruelty rather than love, throw it out—that's the biblical thing to do.
What's Ahead
Over the next twenty days [weeks, for those receiving this via Parrott.ink], we'll explore how to read the Bible in ways that cultivate love, a clear conscience, and an authentic faith. This guide is less GPS and more compass—pointing you in the right direction without promising rigid certainty.
We'll cover four areas: God's character, basic interpretive principles, practical reading methods, and how the Bible argues with itself. The goal isn't perfect understanding but faithful loving.
Prayer of Illumination
O Fire Divine, go through my heart.
O Light eternal, illuminate my soul.
May we discover you in our loving,
through the Spirit of Christ who abides in us.
Amen.
- The "mystery at the center of the universe" is a name I learned for God from Jason Miller.
Day 1 The Foundation: God Is Love
"Dear friends, let's love each other, because love is from God, and everyone who loves is born from God and knows God. The person who doesn't love does not know God, because God is love." —1 John 4:7-8
