Photo by Dmytro Tolokonov on Unsplash
Have you ever seen a leaf? “Of course,” you say, “there’s a tree in my front yard covered in leaves so I see them every day!” I’m not asking if you’ve glanced at a leaf or seen one in your peripheral vision. I’m asking if you’ve really seen a leaf? Have you looked closely and studied it? In order to do so you can’t just rush out your front door past the tree and on to wherever you have to go today. In order to really look at the leaf you have to walk out your front door, stop at the tree, pull a branch toward you and cradle a leaf in the palm of your hand. You have to stop and look at it for a while and turn it over to look at it from another angle. When you pause to look at the leaf you begin to notice things that you’ve never seen before. You might notice the veins that cascade out from the centre vein of the leaf. You might see a transition of color from green to red. You might notice a ragged edge where an insect helped himself to dinner. You won’t see all that if you just rush out the door and straight to your car. You have to stop and pause.
The same is true when you read the Bible. You can take 5 minutes to read it quickly and then go on with your day and you’ll see something but you won’t see all there is to see. In order to really see what is there we need to stop. We need to pause and take a closer look. That’s what the first step of inductive Bible study is all about.
The first step of inductive Bible study is called Observation. Observation is simply taking the time to notice what is written in a particular book, section, paragraph or sentence in the Bible. It is taking the time to look at a passage from a different angle or to look at the details within the passage and find out a little more about them. The closer you look the more you’ll see. And the more you see the better you’ll understand. And that’s what will set you up for the next step of inductive Bible study.
So this week when you open your Bible and pause to read a passage take a few more minutes than you would normally to stop and look again. Look closer. Notice the words of the author. Notice the message being communicated. Notice how it is communicated. You might just discover something you’ve never seen before! You might just catch a glimpse of the beauty that is the Word.
While you are at it, the next time you walk out your front door pause to look a bit closer at the leaf of a tree, the blossoms in your garden, the insects in the grass or the moss on a rock. Stop and admire the beauty in the detail of creation. Then praise the Creator of that beauty!
