Scripture
Then I began to weep bitterly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll and read it. But one of the twenty-four elders said to me, “Stop weeping! Look, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the heir to David’s throne, has won the victory. He is worthy to open the scroll and its seven seals.” Revelation 5:4-5

Observation
It is odd to think of someone crying because they could not understand the Bible, but that is exactly what is taking place in this scripture. John has seen a locked book of God’s revelation. He wants so much to know what is on God’s heart that he bursts into tears because it cannot be understood. It is not just that the book is encrypted in bizzare symbols. There is more. No one is worthy to touch the book so significant is its message. So John weeps before unread paragraphs wanting to know what is on God’s mind.

I met Mrs. Smith in her 79th year. Her daughter had come to know Christ in our church and soon her mother followed. With her thick Scottish accent rolling like fog over Edinburgh, Catherlien Smith soon followed her daughter in discovering the grace and mercy of Christ. But about the same time Jesus found Catherlein, macular degeneration caught up with her eyesight. Her daughter was able to find a Bible with print the size of headlines. Armed with a magnifying glass befitting Sherlock Holmes, Catherlien would struggle word by word to read the scriptures. In my mind is an exposed image of her laborious Bible reading as she hunched with her magnifying glass and brilliant lamp over the book. She prayed regularly for sight that never came. But somehow I think the encroaching blindness opened her eyes, for she savored every word and took them deeply to heart. Our conversations together were exclusively about her discoveries in the Bible and her endless questions. She always wanted to know more and wished she had started learning sooner. She died with such peace in her 88th year.

Application
I want the kind of Bible hunger that brings tears to my eyes for more revelation. There is so much to understand that a first read will never reveal. In fact multiple readings will not unlock the secrets either. It is only when I read the Bible with him who is worthy to unlock the seals that I have any hope of discovering what is sealed in the pages of the book. Never read the Bible without Jesus, for this book stands alone among volumes as the only book we do not read because the Bible reads us.

Prayer
Oh, Lord Jesus Christ, I stand on the verge of a new year of again reading the Bible through. I know so little. In fact, if my memory serves me correctly, this will be the 20th year of reading the Bible completely through. But I’ve only just started at the edges. Though my initial curiosity is satiated, take me deeper into soul hunger that will bring your gracious hand to turn the page and highlight words that only my spirit can read. Jesus, read the Bible to me. Amen.