Should I read the Bible at this stage of life, or is it too late? I’m 57, know the basic Bible stories but never really studied scripture, and I wonder if there’s wisdom I’ve been missing. I’m not here to teach, I’m asking those of you who’ve found meaning in the Bible: where should someone like me start, what am I missing, and which verses genuinely matter to you?
Should I Read the Bible? What It Might Offer at 57
I’m just exploring something that might be meaningful.
Table of Contents
The Photo That Stayed With Me
A good friend passed away. One of the last photos on his Facebook page showed him lying in the hospital holding a Bible. In all the years I knew him, we never talked about spiritual things.
I went to Sunday school as a kid. I know the basic stories: Noah’s ark, David and Goliath, the Good Samaritan. I’ve lived with what I’d call good values my whole life: be kind, don’t lie, don’t steal, treat people decently. But I’ve never really studied the Bible. Never sat down and actually read it cover to cover, or learned the verses some people quote so easily.
Now I’m 57, and I’m wondering if there’s something I’ve been missing.
Have you ever felt like you should know more about something that seems important to a lot of people?
The Label Problem
I’ve never been big on labels or categories. When people in Japan ask my “religion,” it always feels strange, like I’m supposed to fit into some box and live up to whatever that label means.
Just like with politics, putting labels on people seems backwards to me. People are either kind or they’re not. They either live with integrity or they don’t. The category doesn’t matter as much as how they actually treat people.
I’d consider myself spiritual, and people can make of that what they will. I believe in something bigger than us. I’ve had experiences I can’t explain. But organized religion, scripture study, quoting chapter and verse, that’s never been my thing.
But lately I’m wondering: Is that laziness? Am I missing wisdom because I never made the time?
Do you think someone can live a good life without ever really studying scripture? Or is there something essential we miss?
What I See in Others
Many people quote scripture naturally, including the right verse for the right moment. I wish I had studied enough to do that. To know not just the famous lines but the actual chapter and verse, to understand the context, to have that language available when it might help.
I know a few famous ones. “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” “Be still and know that I am God.” Some of them definitely resonate and seem to offer real meaning.
And I’ve heard countless people say that reading the Bible changed their lives for the better. Gave them peace. Direction. A foundation when everything else felt untrustworthy.
But I’ve never experienced that myself. Never really tried.
What did studying the Bible give you that you didn’t have before?
The Question I’m Asking
So, back to the main question: Should I read the Bible at this point in my life? Should someone like me, 57 years old, never really studied scripture, comfortable with my values but wondering if there’s more, finally make the time?
I wonder if it’s too late. Maybe it would feel forced, like I’m trying to cram for a test I should have studied for decades ago.
Or is there value in starting now, at this stage of life, when the big questions feel more urgent and the time to figure things out feels shorter? I’ve tried to imagine what heaven could be like.
I’m thinking about buying an actual Bible instead of just occasionally glancing at the daily verse on my phone’s YouVersion app. But I don’t know the ideal one to get. Maybe some are better for writing notes or bookmarking sections?
If you were going to tell someone like me to read the Bible, where would you tell them to begin?
What I’m Asking You
Should I read the Bible? Plain and simple. I’m asking you for your honest experience.
This isn’t a post about me teaching anyone anything. I’m the student here, and I’m asking those of you who’ve read the Bible, who find meaning in it, who’ve let it shape your life:
Should I read it? At 57, having never really studied it, would it give me something I’m missing? Or am I fine sticking with the basic values I’ve lived by?
Where would you start? If you were recommending a path through scripture for someone brand new to actually studying it (not just knowing the stories), what would you suggest? Genesis? The Gospels? Specific books that speak to life’s later chapters?
Which verses matter to you? Not the famous ones everyone knows, but the ones that actually landed for you personally. The ones you return to when life gets hard or confusing. What are they, and why do they resonate?
What did it change? For those of you who say the Bible changed your life, what specifically changed? Your peace of mind? Your decisions? Your direction? Your sense of purpose? I’d like to know what the actual impact was.
The Ten Commandments Question
I was always drawn more to what is and isn’t acceptable according to the Ten Commandments. Clear guidelines. Don’t murder, don’t steal, don’t lie, honor your parents, etc. I get those, I think.
But people talk about the Bible offering so much more than rules. Wisdom, comfort, direction, understanding. I’ve never experienced that part.
Is the Bible more about rules or something else for you? How does it communicate?
Being Honest
Part of me wonders if I’m asking this because I think I should read it, not because I genuinely want to. Like it’s something responsible adults are supposed to do, especially as they get older and mortality becomes more real.
But that photo of my friend holding the Bible in the hospital didn’t look like an obligation. It looked like comfort like he’d found something that mattered when everything else was out of his control.
Is there comfort in those pages that I haven’t discovered yet? Peace I’m missing? Understanding about what comes next?
What brought you to the Bible? An obligation or a genuine search for something?
What’s your advice?
I’m not looking for people to convince me or convert me. But, I’m interested in your experience.
If you’ve studied the Bible and it changed something for you, I want to hear about it. If you think someone at my stage of life should make the time, tell me why. If you have favorite verses that carry you through difficult times, please share them.
And if you think I’m fine without it, that living with good values is enough and scripture study is optional, that’s worth hearing about too.
I’m trying to figure out if this is a gap in my life worth filling, or if I’m already on solid enough ground.
So should I read the Bible at 57? What would you tell someone who’s wondering if they should finally make the time?
Please consider sharing your thoughts below. I respond to every comment, and your experience often helps others more than mine does.
