Did you ever wait in great anticipation for a new movie or a new book?  You wait and you wait and you wait – and then finally the day comes. The book arrives or you head to the theater.

And then, it all ends too quickly.  

It’s over before you know it.  

I feel that way reading the Bible.  

For the second year in a row, I’m reading the Bible cover to cover over a calendar year.  It’s good and it’s great and it’s wonderful and inspiring and so much more.  Reading the Bible brings me closer to God, closer to His wants and needs, and I believe (I hope) it helps to make me a more spiritual and a better person.  

There is so much in the Bible that, even reading it a second time, I miss a lot.  I try, very hard, to take it all in, but I often find my mind drifting during some of the most challenging parts.  And sometimes I skim passages rather than taking the time to really really read it all.  I know I shouldn’t do this, but I do. 

This year, since it is the second year in a row I am reading the entire Bible from cover to cover, I thought I’d skim less, but I might be skimming more.  

I’m not proud of that.  I want to do a better job.

The Bible is full of great stories and great messages.  I love the Book of Proverbs.  There’s a lot of good advice in there. One can learn a lot about living just by reading Proverbs. I also enjoy reading about Moses and King David and King Soloman.  I also enjoy the stories of Elijiah and Elishia.  It’s all great.  

For the second year in a row, I’m following a daily reading plan from bible.com to make sure I’m on track to read the entire book in one year.  There are a million differemt ways to read the Bible in a year. 

And, of course, it’s not the end goal of completing the Bible, it’s the destination – the daily readings (or if I miss a day, or two, the almost daily readings) that help me maintain a close connection to God.  That’s the purpose. Of course.

All of the stories of the Bible are valuable and precious and meaningful and very important.  But there is one story in the Bible better than all the rest –

The Greatest Story Ever Told.

Before starting this yearly trek through the Bible, I had previously read The Gospels.  I have also read numerous books about Christianity and Jesus.  The more I read about Jesus, the stronger my faith grows, the more fervently I believe, and the closer to Him I get.  I don’t know if I actually feel that he’s always sitting here right next to me, but I know he isn’t very far away. The more one reads about and learns about Jesus, the more he realizes how close He really is.

I love to read the stories of Jesus’ life as found in the Gospels.  I don’t have a favorite Gospel story.  I like them all.  Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John each share the story of Jesus in their own ways.  I think that’s great.  

I enjoy the miracles. I enjoy the parables. Walking on water and telling the skies and sea to calm are great stories that I don’t tire of. “Follow me…” “Render unto Caesar…” Yeah. It’s all great stuff.

When one reads (or sometimes skims) the Bible on a yearly plan, it takes until October before one finishes the Old Testament and finally gets to the Gospels.  It takes a long time to get there. When I finally arrive at the Book of Matthew, I feel this sense of joy. I made it!

And then, just a few weeks later, it’s all over.  The Book of John closes and it’s off to the Acts of the Apostles, all good stuff, but the greatest story, the one I wait all year for, goes by much too quickly.  

I wish the Gospels were a bit longer.  I’d like to linger a bit more in the tales of Jesus’ life.  I like hanging out with Him.  I like spending my time with Him.  The more I read about Jesus, the closer I get to him.

But, I know it can’t be as I wish.  As it says in the Book of John, “Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.”

A few weeks ago, I finished John’s Gospel.  I’ll be a long year in Bible reading until I will be reading again of Jesus’ life.  Sure, I’ll read other accounts.  And, yes, I’ll watch The Chosen during that time, but I’ll miss the anticipation of getting to and reading through what I feel are the best parts of The Bible.

When I read the Biblical story of Jesus, I get to stand with and experience the loving life of Christ.  It’s such an important and wonderful and uplifting adventure.  It’s The Greatest Story Ever Told.  

I just wish, in The Bible, it all lasted a little bit longer.   Like time itself, the stories pass much too quickly.