Casandra Martin

She is in the fifth grade. Curly chocolate hair frames beautiful brown eyes. She walks with a bounce that expresses her joy to be at church. She comes for a hug, hardly containing her excitement. “I can say all of the books of the Old Testament!” she tells me.

This is a big moment. I take a step back, watching her straighten her back and grin. She takes a deep breath, and begins reciting the books of the Old Testament. “Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus…” She only pauses once or twice. She doesn’t even need a hint or a nudge. She finds her place and keeps on going. A little audience gathers around her as she walks through the books that tell the story of God’s movement through history and His plan to bring us a Savior.

“Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi!” She finishes the list with a flourish. She is beaming with pride. She has worked hard to meet a goal and we all cherish her accomplishment.  We clap, hug, and high five, telling her that she has taken another step toward looking like Jesus.

I wish I could bottle the look on her face. Her hunger to know the Bible is priceless. Her enthusiasm for learning the things of God is precious. Her excitement at taking these steps into knowing Him better have eternal value. I want to have that same look on my face every time I open my Bible.

My Jesus Resolution today is to open my Bible with joy. Jerome, a fifth century Bible scholar, wrote that “ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ.” My Bible is the key to knowing God. It is His heart on a page, His portrait painted in bright colors for me to see, His love letter to His beloved, and His guide for walking together into eternity. When I open my Bible, I get to meet God, enter His presence, hear His voice, and experience His love. It is a place of hope, guidance, purpose, discipline, grace, and transformation. If I want to look like Jesus, I have to know what Jesus looks like. Knowing the Book is the best way to know Him.