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READ: PSALM 19:9-10; JOHN 1:1-5, 15; LUKE 4:14-21; HEBREWS 4:12\n\n\n\nOf all the things I learned at Bible college, the most important thing I learned was from Dr. Kroeze. In every class, Dr. Kroeze\u2019s excitement for the Bible was contagious. As he talked about the Scriptures, he would bounce up and down on his toes, close his eyes and gesture with his hands, and sometimes take off his glasses and spin them. Most classes ended a bit late because he never wanted to skip any detail. In fact, he got so caught up in teaching the Word that he\u2019d never have time to finish everything he wanted to cover. I don\u2019t think we ever completed the syllabus. But that\u2019s okay, because the most important thing Dr. Kroeze taught me was how to love the Bible. He spoke with such wonder, affection, and excitement about Scripture that I couldn\u2019t help but fall in love with it.\n\n\n\nIf you\u2019ve grown up in the church, it\u2019s easy for the stories in the Bible to become just that\u2014stories. We can forget that these were real things that happened to real people engaging with a real God. But when we approach Scripture with childlike wonder and curiosity, letting ourselves get swept up in the drama of the story instead of only ever pursuing the exact correct theological interpretation of every little detail, we get a fresh taste of who God is.\n\n\n\nDon\u2019t get me wrong\u2014I love theology! And pursuing solid Biblical interpretation and sound doctrine are vital to the Christian faith. But sometimes we get so bogged down in the details that we miss the beauty of the larger story. We miss out on beholding the divine mystery of grace. Scripture tells the story of God\u2019s ridiculous, never-ending love for us, and His pursuit of His people through hundreds of generations. This pursuit culminates in God taking on human flesh in Jesus, walking among the people He\u2019d been pursuing for thousands of years, teaching them the true meaning of the Scriptures they had been studying for generations, embodying God\u2019s own presence with them, then being killed by Jewish authorities on a Roman cross, only to resurrect from the dead three days later and then ascend into heaven. All because He loves us.\n\n\n\nI think that\u2019s what made Dr. Kroeze fall in love with the Bible. It tells the story of Jesus, who loves us enough to lay down His life for us, who is powerful enough to rise from the dead, and who promises to raise us from the dead and give us eternal life when He returns. And that\u2019s a story worth listening to. \u2022 Taylor Eising\n\n\n\n\u2022 What part of the Bible captivates your attention? Why is that?\n\n\n\n\u201cHeaven and earth will pass away, but my [Jesus\u2019s] words will never pass away.\u201d Matthew 24:35 (NIV)