These are words of "Weird Al" Yankovic in his wacky take off of "Beat It." Now, author Eugene Peterson is saying the same thing, but with much less parody, and much more power.
Peterson has written "Eat This Book," that he describes as "a conversation in the art of spiritual reading." Some of you know him as the author of the Bible paraphrase "The Message," one of the more controversial and powerful versions of Scripture you'll ever sink your teeth into.
In his latest book, Peterson discusses our approach to reading the Bible. The title comes from the various instances in Scripture when God serves His Word on a silver platter to a prophet and tells him to chow down. Jeremiah, Ezekiel and John all dined on heavenly scroll.
The idea? The Bible is so much more than a piece of literature, a self-help book or chronicle of history. It's God's revelation of Himself to us. His Word should and must change us. The only way that will happen is from the inside out. For that to happen, we consume His Word, cutting into to bit-sized pieces, chewing it thoroughly and swallowing it.
Once in our system, it changes us internally. Only then will we humbly obey the Word planted in our hearts (James 1:21). Only then does it change us completely, thoroughly, absolutely.
"Eat This Book" is only 176 pages (minus the appendix), but this is anything but a light snack. I nibbled and feasted on this wonderful meal for three weeks. Peterson's observations and conclusions are thick and rich. Often, I would consume a few paragraphs and push back from the table to chew on what he had put on my plate. But it was worth every bite.
And if you are a fan of his translation "The Message," you'll be fascinated as he tells the story of how God moved in his life to create this paraphrase.
I highly recommend Eugene Peterson's "Eat This Book." It's a wonderful appetizer that encourages us to read the Bible with a clean palate. Only then will we "taste and see that the Lord is good." You'll clean your plate and ask for seconds!
In Christ,
Jay
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