KIP, RIP, BIP?

Knitting in Public (KIP) is de-rigour amongst the trendiest knitters. People who Read in Public (RIP) are a lot less militant about it. But they're still doing something slightly unusual in this iPod age. But I'm wondering ... Do people ever reading their Bibles in Public (BIP)? I'm not talking about turning to the lesson with the Preacher in Church on a Sunday morning. I'm thinking about on the bus. In the park. While you're waiting for appointments. Out there - where people can see you.

KIPers and RIPers will tell you that their hobby is so important they want to take it everywhere they go and engage with it at every opportunity. Should we not feel the same way about the Word of God?

These questions do not come to you from the pen of an intrepid Biblical adventurer. I've BIPed once and once only. The day I bought Pause, I went into a coffee shop for a sit-down and found myself drawing the new Bible out of my bag. I only meant to glance through it and then put it away in favour of something less obviously Christian but, before I knew it, I was reading the introductory pages. And then some of the text itself.

I continued to read on the bus home. And I found that I like BIPing. It made me very conscious of God being right there, right where I am at any given moment. I found myself reading a little and praying a little. For the people on the bus, for the streets we passed along, for the emergency siren I heard in the distance.

Isn't this what life's supposed to be like? Walking through each day with God at your right hand. I felt like I got a lot closer to God on that bus than I have for a long time. I'll BIP again ... and I strongly urge you to give it a try.