Jessica Hooten Wilson grew up in a home filled with stories. Her parents pinched pennies so they could purchase leather-bound copies of classic books like Walden and Jane Eyre. As a girl, Wilson soon realized that these beautiful editions were special in comparison to her paperback novels.
“Similarly, Christians recognize the Bible as a different sort of book from all other books,” Wilson writes in her book Reading for the Love of God, excerpted for a recent CT article. “While God may inspire an artist, or the Holy Spirit draw a reader toward a divine revelation through art, the Bible is more than a mere literary experience.”
Wilson explains that understanding the Bible as literature is an important aspect of fully appreciating Scripture. But it’s not the only thing that matters. What matters most is understanding the Bible as divinely written by God in a way that’s unlike any other book.
“No matter what other beauty, truth, and goodness may be found elsewhere,” Wilson writes, “other works of literature lack the authority that Scripture has over Christians.”
As we turn to commentaries for insight, fiction for a sweeping story, or poetry for a moment of peace, may we remember to cultivate the spiritual practice of reading the Bible, a book unlike any other.
