Day of the Bible

This evening I went to a gathering celebrating the release of a new translation of the New Testament into Polish.  The main speaker was a man who has devoted much of his life to translating the Bible into Polish.  At the beginning of his talk he said, "It was never God's intention to substitute a relationship with Him with a relationship with a book."  That's good to remember and even more impressive when it comes from someone who has devoted his life's work to that book.
I have met several people (professors mostly) who have devoted their lives to the study of the Bible.  It is usually obvious which ones have forgotten to live the Christian life while studying scripture.  It is sad and pathetic.
Read the Bible.  It is good to do so just as it is good to read e-mail from your friend.  However, mail is not a relationship.  It is only a conduit that allows a relationship.  The Bible is not a relationship either.  It is a crucial way in which God communicates with us, but it is a means to an end.  Let us never forget the end in our study of the Bible.