I am a very fortunate fellow. I have a standing date every Friday night with Kate, my wife. The babysitter comes, the pizza goes in the oven, the kid’s video is all ready to go, quick good-bye hugs, and we are off, zooming down one of grand avenues of Buenos Aires, fighting Friday evening traffic en route to I.S.E.D.E.T, the ecumenical seminary where we take a single course, Iniciación Bíblica, or “Bible Initiation.”

The objectives of the Bible Initiation course are to read the Bible in one year, acquiring a general knowledge of Old and New Testament Books. A Friday night “Bible date” may sound dull, but when I pick up the Bible to prepare for class I can feel my heart rate go up, a butterfly or two in my stomach, and my mood improve.

These “first date” type feelings reveal that Bible dating is about growing a relationship with God. In the human-human realm, dating involves mutually exploring who that “other” is, what makes him or her tick, laugh, cry and love. Dating God is different. God already “knows” us intimately in the true Hebrew sense. What is astounding for me personally, though, is that engaging God’s message in Biblical texts is refreshing and renewing the most important relationship I will ever have: the one I have with Jesus Christ.

So, to add some excitement in your life, add regular Bible dates to you calendar. Open your Bible; read it, struggle with it, and let God breathe new life into the relationship that binds you to God´s saving grace for the world. –David Wunch

David Wunch and Kate Lawler are ELCA missionaries in South America. They serve as Regional Representatives and coordinate the Young Adult in Global Mission site in Argentina.