Meditations—points to ponder

Karl Barth became a Christian reader—reading words in order to be 

formed by the Word. 

It was only then that he became a Christian writer. 

Eugene Petersen has learned that force-feeding isn't the best way 

to convey the distinctive quality inherent in Bible reading—spiritual reading. 

He noticed a passage written by John in Rev 10:9-10 … 

wherein he (S. John) was eating a book!

Revelation 10:9–10 (NRSV) ⁹ So I went to the angel and told him to give me the little scroll; and he said to me, “Take it, and eat; it will be bitter to your stomach, but sweet as honey in your mouth.” ¹⁰ So I took the little scroll from the hand of the angel 

and ate it; it was sweet as honey in my mouth, 

but when I had eaten it, my stomach was made bitter.

Jeremiah and Ezekiel had also eaten good books—

a good diet for anyone who cares about reading words rightly. 

When you eat a book (not just read it) you get it into your nerve endings, 

reflexes and imagination. 

These books that are eaten are Holy Scriptures. 

The book eaten becomes metabolized into one’s very being.

Eugene Peterson Eat this Book! the art of spiritual reading pp8-9

Ezekiel 3:3 (NRSV) — 3 He said to me, Mortal, eat this scroll that I give you and fill your stomach with it. Then I ate it; and in my mouth it was as sweet as honey.