I am a part of a FaceBook group of men reading one chapter a day for the next several months. It is a group of young and old, “seasoned” Christians and younger Christians. As we go on this journey, I have realized that we are looking at snapshots of Scripture each day, and we are not taking a panoramic view.

I’ve noticed that when short sections of Scripture “speak to us”, we often engage that small bit of wisdom, or insight, and begin to extrapolate meaning from it for our lives. However, when harder sections come up that may not make sense, we use the same method and look at that “snapshot” of Scripture as if it should stand alone.

Reading a chapter a day, or a verse a day with a brief devotional is a good way to stay in the Word of God. We are taking a snapshot of the Word of God which can be beautiful. Take a look at the picture of the waterfall. It is a beautiful picture and can be inspiring. An image of God’s creation, but it is not the entire picture. This week there were some who didn’t understand what Paul was writing about in some of the chapters. The misunderstanding was because they were taking the chapter as a snapshot, a stand alone section of Scripture and they were trying to understand it that way where to actually understand it, one should read about three chapters together to maintain the thought Paul was presenting. I also see the same thing as people look at individual verses and try to understand it by itself.

As you look at the picture of the waterfall above, you see something beautiful, but you don’t see the fullness of all that is there. Below is the complete picture…

The snapshot of the waterfall shows the one in the back center of the full picture. You can see that it is only a small part of the beauty of what is there. The full picture is more breath-taking. As we look at verses in context (reading the chapters and verses around it), we see a much bigger picture and the message that God desires us to learn and we see the bigger picture of what He has for us.

I want to encourage you to enjoy the snapshots of Scripture, but know that there is so much more. Take time to look at the panoramic view. I know life can get busy, so if you’re not sure, ask your pastor, listen to his messages or seek out someone who can help you see the panoramic view of Scripture. Don’t be satisfied with a snapshot Christianity.