Reading is a lot like eating.

But then again, so is watching, and scrolling, and listening to your favourite pods. That’s why we talk about consuming content.

The biblical authors talk this way. They speak about God’s word as something you can consume. Ezekiel was told to ‘Eat this scroll…’ and so he adds, ‘Then I ate it, and it was in my mouth as sweet as honey.’ Jeremiah says something similar: ‘Your words were found, and I ate them, and your words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart…’

The Psalmist talks about God’s words as desirable and edible: ‘More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb.’ And again, ‘How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!’

Why is reading (and watching, and scrolling, and listening) like eating?

We know that, at some level, the things we consume become a part of us. That’s true of food, and it’s true of words. They change us, very often in unconscious ways. Everything we are exposed to leaves its mark upon us, affecting how we think about the world and about ourselves.

This means that you can approach eating and reading in much the same way. You eat regularly (at least once a day), habitually (even when you wish you wouldn’t!), by necessity (or you’ll die), and mostly with enjoyment; it’s sweet to your tastebuds.

I think that God wants us to read his word in the same way: regularly, habitually, by necessity, and with deep enjoyment.

How should you go about consuming the book?

Of course, there is a maximal approach to studying the Bible. Some people are called to dedicate their whole lives to it, and even then, after years of dedicated study, they will often feel that they have barely begun.

But it can be unhelpful to think about the maximal approach when most people struggle to make any headway in reading the Scriptures. And so, I want to suggest that eating the book should look like the straightforward, daily practice of just reading or listening to the Bible.

Don’t overthink this so that you paralyse yourself. Just as you manage to pour a bowl of cereal each morning, or buy a meal deal at lunch, or whip up your favourite pasta dish at night, so should you establish a habit of eating the Bible every day – same place, same time, following a manageable reading plan. (I like this one.)

You won’t understand everything. You may not even know what difference it is making at first. But just as eating does you good regardless of whether you understand the biochemistry involved, so does God’s word.

As this habit becomes a part of your life so that you love it and actively look forward to it, you’ll find ways of going deeper. But that’s for later. Right now, just read.