Richard Foster, author of the bestselling book The Celebration of Discipline (1978), once observed that most of us own numerous copies of the Bible... and yet we continue to add to our collections! It's not that we are especially hard on our Bibles. Rather, this curious habit can be explained by the fact that, even after we invest in yet another Bible, we have still not found what we are looking for; we are still looking for answers. We are convinced the Bible has something essential to offer us--we just aren't sure how to get at it. So we continue looking in hope the next copy or new translation will one day help us uncover it.
Many of us are convinced that the purpose of the Bible is to supply us with essential knowledge, knowledge that will help us "call down fire" on our opponents. Yet the apostle Paul warned us that "knowledge puffs up" while "love builds up." [1 Corinthians 8:1-3] If we are searching the Bible that we might win an argument or find support for our sectarian interests then we are misguided in our search. Our quest should be to cultivate an awareness of God and his kingdom through the transformation of our minds: "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect." [Romans 12:2]
Or again as Paul wrote to Timothy, "...from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work." [2 Timothy 3:15-16]