The Bible TV series on the History Channel is a big deal. Over 13 million people tuned in to check out the first episode of the miniseries. That’s the biggest single audience any show has pulled in so far in 2013.

Every year the Bible is the most read, most printed and most purchased book in the world. In the United States alone there are over 300,000 new books published every year. Each one is potentially full of important information that can help people change their lives, inspire them, or entertain them. But somehow, a book thousands of years old is the only one that’s consistently on top.

But why? What is it about this old book that keeps people reading? There are secular reasons. The Bible is great literature, and it’s taught in universities around the world. It’s influenced Western culture more than any other book, so people who want to know why things are the way they are read it to gain insight. But the real reasons people read the Bible are spiritual.

The fact of the matter is, the Bible is the only book that can tell you the most important information about life. The Bible tells us where we came from. In Genesis you can read not only about how mankind came to exist, but more importantly the Bible tells us why. It gives us a glimpse into the mind of God, the One who created us and made everything around us.

The Bible isn’t just an authority on the beginning of life. It tells us what’s coming in the future, and reading the Bible is the only way we can make sense of our lives. This is the beginning of a series of blog posts that will take a deeper look at reasons the Bible means so very much to us as people.

Let me start with one reason the Bible means so much to me personally. Above all else, it’s relevant to my life, thousands of years after it was written. No matter what’s going on, no matter what trial I might be experiencing, no matter what good things I’m celebrating, the Bible gives me direction on what to think of it and how to handle it. If I’m happy I can read psalms of praise to God and thank Him for His blessings. If I’m sad I can read about the darkest hours of Jesus’ life and be encouraged by what He faced so that I can be forgiven. Day in, day out, the Bible is always relevant.

It doesn’t matter what section of the Bible you turn to. The books of Moses give you context for why the world is the way it is with a tight historic narrative. The prophets explain how God views sin and disobedience and how He is just to punish and quick to forgive when people repent. The writings (books like Job, Psalms and Proverbs) teach us what true wisdom is and how to live wisely through the highs and lows of life. The gospels give us the ultimate example of how to live from Jesus Christ—God in the flesh and Savior of all mankind. The epistles explain how God leads His people by His Spirit and teach us how to deal with problems in the Church. Revelation is a panorama of the near and distant future, showing us the destruction that man’s way can produce and the beautiful future coming when Jesus returns.

It all works together so beautifully, and it all works for people, to help us know our Creator and live more faithfully. Please visit UCG.org regularly and explore the Bible with us. In the meantime, please read the Bible yourself. You’ll be amazed at how much it has to offer you in terms of how to work through the challenges of day-to-day life.