Some people turn to God out of great personal tragedy, or because everything in life has bottomed out and all hope is lost - like the prodigal son. My story is not dramatic in that way. To the contrary, I had always felt reasonably good about myself, in a spiritual sense, and there was never a feeling of great need until about six years ago when my wife and I joined a book-by-book Bible study. As the truth about the kindness and graciousness of God slowly came through, it stimulated a change in me, "Don't you realize that it is God's kindness that is trying to lead you to him and change the way you think and act?" (Romans 2:4). As the good news about God's righteousness and trustworthiness became evident, I realized that my entire relationship with God had been a delusion. I had previously thought, "I am rich and well off; I have all I need." I did not realize "how miserable and pitiful" I was, and that spiritually I was "poor, naked, and blind" (Revelation 3:17). The Christian experience can begin in a homeless person who is in the gutter and on drugs, or in a doctor who sits in a stuffy office; the common thread though is that it occurs in those "who know they are spiritually poor" (Matthew 5:3). God revealed his love and the truth about himself which stimulated recognition of my great need for him. I believe that God always takes this first step towards us which eventually leads to salvation. "For God has revealed his grace for the salvation of all people" (Titus 2:11). "But when the kindness and love of God our Savior was revealed, he saved us" (Titus 3:4).In this process of searching for the truth about God and to know him better, the Bible has become a living book to me. Below are a few of the most precious things to me, as I read the Bible:1. The primary purpose of the Bible is to reveal the truth about the character of God. We are caught up in a rebellion which began in heaven. The central issue in this rebellion is the true character of God. Do we find God to be worthy of our trust? If God's character is the primary question asked of every story, the Bible comes alive with meaning. At times, asking these questions about God is painful. Why did God turn Lot's wife into a pillar of salt? Why drown the whole world in a flood? Why all the fighting in the Bible? Why did Jesus have to die? The Bible, taken as a whole, helps us to understand the answers to these and countless other questions. As we prayerfully ask God our questions while continuing to read on, wonderful answers come, and the truth about God's character gets better and better. This results in a deep trust for God, which is the meaning of "righteousness by faith (trust)".2. When in doubt about the character of God, we should look to Jesus as the greatest revelation of the truth about God. Jesus mission was to reveal the truth about God. Jesus was humble and gentle. He treated even his enemies with respect. He washed the feet of Judas with the full knowledge that he was the betrayer. We then ask the obvious question, "Is God the Father the same in character?" Jesus answer, "Whoever has seen me has seen the Father" (John 14:9). So, when reading through the Bible and, on the surface, God appears different in character than Jesus (who is, of course, God!), I will dig deeper, not to manipulate or twist the story to fit the preconceived notion I have, but rather to find a consistent and truthful picture of God. I believe that the Bible - all 66 books - does reveal a harmonious picture of God. This can be seen, even in situations where God must act with severity. As an example of this, imagine that you walk by a house and see a man in the backyard animated and shouting angrily to his son who is upstairs. You may come to the conclusion that the man is cruel and that his children would be better off with another father. Upon later realizing that the man's 3-year-old son was straddling with one leg out the upstairs window looking down, his actions would be seen as the only reasonable and loving thing to do under the circumstance. In a similar manner, as the Bible is investigated thoroughly, God is the only one who looks consistently good, even at times when he must act like a father shouting to his son.3. What is most attractive about God is that he does not ask us to trust in him without evidence. Again and again, the Bible warns us to trust based on evidence, not claims. Which has greater meaning, the claim, "God is love", or the demonstration as to the truth of that statement? Jesus is the evidence for that statement - by forgiving the woman caught in adultery, or even the cruel people who crucified him, "Forgive them, Father!" (Luke 23:34), we believe not because God tells us to, but because of the convincing demonstration. Our trust in God should not be a leap in the dark, but instead rooted in the evidence God reveals in scripture. 4. As we pour over the evidence and ask God for greater understanding, he is not offended by our heartfelt questions. God's friends know they can honestly ask God for the meaning. Moses asked, "Lord, why do you mistreat your people? Why did you send me here? Ever since I went to the king to speak for you, he has treated them cruelly. And you have done nothing to help them!" (Exodus 5:22,23). God was not offended by this. God also did not rebuke Abraham when he said, "Surely you won't kill the innocent with the guilty. That's impossible! You can't do that. If you did, the innocent would be punished along with the guilty. That is impossible. The judge of all the earth has to act justly" (Genesis 18:25). Our search for the truth about God involves a willingness to listen and a willingness to re-think our traditional beliefs if they do not fit with the evidence. 5. It's true that many will enter heaven like the thief on the cross - people who are just beginning to learn the truth about God and who haven't had a chance to do much good with their lives. But like the thief, they love and trust God, who graciously accepts them into the kingdom. What God really wants, though, is to change us into his image that we may reflect his love to others. God desires people who know him intimately - as a friend - and have been so changed by his love that they are enabled to correctly represent him to the world. It all comes down to whether or not we have a true understanding of God. If our picture of God is a severe one, we may be satisfied merely with forgiveness in order to be in good legal standing before God. But this does not lead to any real change of heart. We may be satisfied merely with the hope of entering heaven as covered crooks - still rebels on the inside. Instead, what God desires for us on this earth is rebirth, healing, and a restoration of his image in us. This can only occur when we completely fall in love with God as we see his character with greater clarity, and how altogether trustworthy he is. As we come to know God as a friend, like Abraham and Moses, we may then "reflect the glory of the Lord with uncovered faces; and that same glory, coming from the Lord, who is the Spirit, transforms us into his likeness in an ever greater degree of glory" (2 Corinthians 3:18). Love is the fruit which God's friends will have as the evidence that God is in their lives. "Here is the clear difference between God's children and the Devil's children: those who do not do what is right or do not love others are not God's children...We know that we have left death and come over into life; we know it because we love others. Those who do not love are still under the power of death..." (1 John 3:10,14).