I'm High!

Reading the bible is a powerful drug.

It's a known fact that there are many physiological and mental benefits to exercise. But what of the merits of bible reading?

Okay. So, I've reached a crucial mile marker in my trek through the bible. However, with only thirty days and forty three books to the finish line, I am seriously starting to have some doubts about whether I'll be able to deliver. This intensely lengthy reading has stretched me to my physical and spiritual limits.

Despite the challenges, one thing is certain: The pace has emboldened me. I have attained the reader's equivalent of what marathon junkies often refer to as the runner's high.

I've read through the bible before, but I've never tread so vigorously. The exhilaration drives me. But what triggers the high?

Maybe it's the daily 2 to 3 hour reading schedule, which affords untapped opportunities for making connections and cross references like never before. For example, just yesterday, I read Isaiah's prophecy of God's impending judgement on Israel after repeated failures to keep the perfect law of God. I can recall with clarity their fall from grace, under who's leadership, and by who's hands, because I had read about it just days before in the Chronicles. Or, perhaps it is the promise of accomplishing what is, for me at least, the impossible--the bible in 60 days (yikes, what was I thinking).

I feel as though I am working at my maximum potential, and the sky's the limit. Still maybe there is a more practical explanation for what I am experiencing. Possibly there is something to the whole mind body connection, because my endorphins are flying all over the place, and I'm feeling loopy.

It could be that this is all in my head, but this bible reading euphoria can best be summed up by a famous lick from Grateful Dead's "Truckin'": What a long strange trip it's been.