Charles R. Swindoll - 13 Sept

F OR MORE THAN SIXTY YEARS I have cultivated a love for the Bible and have pursued an understanding of it. My purpose in writing this book is to help you do the same.

First, Id like to offer an explanation of how this love affair started. As early as my late teens, I was drawn to the truths of Gods Word and captivated by its wisdom. My interest in the Bible can be traced in large part to the fact that I was reared by a mother and a father who believed in God and respected the Scriptures. They used the Bibles counsel as a guideline for our home, often quoting from its pages as my older brother, Orville; my older sister, Luci; and I were growing up. It was back then that the Bible first began to make sense to me.

Because scriptural truth served as our domestic foundation, ours was a home where respect for authority was expected and lovingly enforced. At the same time, my parents allowed for open discussion and gave us the freedom to speak our minds. Disagreements in our home didnt fester and lead to unending arguments; rather, they were resolved quickly and correctly, just as the Bible teaches. Ours was not an uptight, frowning family marked by harsh demands or mindless rules and regulations. On the contrary, while my parents honored, taught, and respected the Bible, they also encouraged lighthearted fun. In our home, laughter was loud and frequent, and the sounds of music both vocal and instrumental were heard every day. In that happy, balanced setting, I never felt abused or exploited by overbearing, obsessive parents who hammered us children with a long list of legalistic requirements underscored by Bible verses yanked out of context. On the contrary, grace flowed often and freely.

Having grown up in that type of environment, I was interested in cultivating a relationship with a woman who had standards similar to mine. I longed to find a life partner who loved the Lord and His Word; who found delight in free-flowing, in-depth conversation; who enjoyed music, lots of good humor, and laughter; and who was committed to deepening her knowledge of scriptural truth. When Cynthia and I met, I quickly realized that she was the one, which led to our being engaged in one week(!) and marrying eighteen months later. Throughout our courtship, we found a mutual interest in digging into the Scriptures. We regularly attended Bible studies together in order to establish our home on the rock-solid foundation of the Bible.

Less than two years after we married, my hitch in the Marine Corps resulted in my spending more than sixteen months apart from my wife on the Japanese island of Okinawa. Even there, I intensified my study of the Bible. Thanks to a man named Bob Newkirk, a representative of the Navigators serving on the island, I dug deeper into my understanding of Gods Word, which included an extensive Scripture-memory program and a weekly Bible study with others who were serving in various branches of the military. As a result, it became clear to me that I should pursue an even deeper study of Scripture at a seminary, with a view toward entering full-time ministry.

This calling came as an unexpected surprise to me since it represented a complete change of direction in my career. Cynthia was delighted with the decision. Within weeks after my discharge from the Marine Corps, in the summer of 1959, we were on our way to Dallas Theological Seminary (DTS). We towed a small U-Haul trailer full of our belongings, smiling from ear to ear as we anticipated the excitement of learning and growing together. I cannot describe the sheer delight within me, knowing that my love for God would be enlarged and deepened, my mind would be stretched and challenged as never before, and my hunger for a deeper understanding of the Scriptures would begin to be satisfied. The next four years were nothing short of life changing.

It was during that time that I became acquainted with Dr. Howard G. Hendricks, who was the professor for my major and chair of the Department of Christian Education. While I took every subject he taught during those years of study, the one that proved most beneficial was his best-known course, at the time titled Bible Study Methods. Even though I had been a student of the Bible since my late-teen years, I began to realize how incomplete and inadequate my approach to the Scriptures had been. Though I had slowly grown in my knowledge of Gods Word over the previous years, I didnt have a consistent method of studying those truths and interpreting them one that would lead to insightful and accurate applications of the Scriptures. While I had been sincere and committed during those earlier years, my method of searching the Scriptures lacked a systematic, trustworthy approach. Thanks to what I learned in this magnificent course of study from Prof Hendricks at Dallas Theological Seminary, I finally discovered how to engage in a meaningful and reliable process of searching the Scriptures.