A Beach Read

I passed a woman dozing on a lounge chair just at the water’s edge.  A paperback book was in the sand beside her, barely out of reach of the incoming tide.  I moved the book higher just as she opened her eyes.  “Oh, don’t bother,” she said, “I’m not really paying that much attention to the book anyway.  Let it float away.”  Her eyes closed again.  I am an avid respecter and defender of books, but her remark interested me.  How do I react to God’s book?  I read the Bible daily and have taken various study courses on its content, but do I really pay attention to what it says?  Is my life different because of its message or do I, like the woman, lie back, letting God’s book float way because the message might cause me pain or make me reorder my life?  Do I seriously consider the implications and demands God makes in His book?  Forgive me, Lord, when I treat the Bible as light reading; help me to apply its directives to my life.  Forgive my lazy disregard. Amen.