Another way to read the Bible, other than as an instruction manual or history lesson, is as a love letter. What would it mean to read the Old and New Testaments while focusing on God’s good heart communicating with yours at the closest relational level; encountering a deeper, fuller picture of the Jesus you thought you knew?

Bible Gateway interviewed Laurin Makohon Greco about her devotional notes in the NIV Discover God’s Heart Devotional Bible (Zondervan, 2014).

Why did you want to write the NIV Discover God’s Heart Devotional Bible?

Laurin Greco: I remember holding my Bible in my college dorm room, staring at it and thinking, “I really wish I knew what this was all about.” I could recite a couple of Bible verses and tell a couple of stories, but I didn’t understand how they fit together—or that they even did.

The Bible is God saying, “Here is My heart. This is who I am. Get to know Me.” But I thought the Bible was a bunch of principles I was supposed to follow—that Christianity was just following a “be good” checklist. I had no idea that the Bible is God sharing who He is with us.

So I wrote this Bible project for people like me. I wanted it to accomplish two things—to serve as a tour guide as people read God’s Word from cover to cover, and to help people get to know its Author and His good heart.

How is the NIV Discover God’s Heart Devotional Bible different from other Bibles?

Laurin Greco: Well, it’s the full NIV Bible text with 312 devotions throughout it to help people read God’s Word from cover to cover. Each of the 312 devotions in the Bible has a “God’s Story” section—it explains what’s going on in the chapters to be read that day and how they fit into God’s great story. And the second section, “The King’s Heart,” focuses on what that portion of Scripture reveals about who God is and what His heart is like.

Why did you want to write a Bible project that focused on God’s heart?

Laurin Greco: I can’t think of anything that’s more important to know. By God’s heart I mean who He is—His character, His essence.

God is the eternal, sovereign Inventor of the universe. He could have kept Himself a mystery forever, leaving us to guess at who He is, or to never know Him at all. But God didn’t do that—He wants us to know Him. He wants us to live in His great love.

The Bible is the God of the universe opening Himself up to share who He is and what His heart is like. It’s an invitation to intimacy. Reading His Word is one of the ways we accept His invitation.

What’s the main thing you learned about who God is as you wrote the devotions?

Laurin Greco: Oh, that He is so good. I mean, I know that. A lot of us know that. But then to see it in every section of Scripture, every single one, was nearly overwhelming. The Bible is filled with accounts of God pursuing people who snub Him…then pursuing and pursuing and pursuing some more. He chases after people, spurred on by His great love for them. Sometimes He loves undeserving people so much that it’s uncomfortable. But God is ludicrously good.

Did anything surprise you as you journeyed through the Bible?

Laurin Greco: For me, the main surprise is how simple God’s story is. Basically it’s this: God is good and worth loving, and Satan and the forces of darkness spend the bulk of human history declaring that He isn’t. But history will ultimately show what’s true—God is good. He most definitely is.

There is a cosmic trial going on in God’s great story—and God’s heart is what’s on trial. From creation (Gen. 1), God’s good inventions declare, “God is good!” But shortly afterward (Gen. 3), Satan sneaks into the Garden of Eden and makes the cosmic counterargument, “Is He really?”

That same trial takes place on a smaller level in every human heart—in every insecurity, in every hard time. But ultimately, God’s story will show what has always been true: God is good. And He’s very much worth loving.

One of the devotionals is titled, “The Divine Hug.” What does that title mean?

Laurin Greco: That portion of Scripture includes Aaron speaking God’s blessing over His people. “The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the LORD turn his face toward you and give you peace” (Num. 6:24-26).

In Jewish culture, a spoken blessing is considered a tangible gift. It’s an impartation of something. As Aaron stood before God’s people, he would raise his hands and speak this blessing over them. God’s people, in turn, would bow their heads. They were receiving the blessing.

God, who wrote the blessing that Aaron spoke, was speaking these realities to His people, realities of His face shining upon them, of being gracious to them. God was pushing His love into His people’s hearts. The blessing is a divine hug.

How was your personal Christian faith affected by writing the 312 devotions in this Bible?

Laurin Greco: I was writing this project during a critical time in my life—when I was walking my sweet mama home to Jesus. As I would dive into God’s Word during the day, He would tenderly remind me of His goodness and love. He’d speak through His living and active Word (Heb. 4:12). His precious goodness would give me the strength to be by her bedside—I could practically feel His arms around us; He was so close. Mama didn’t walk through the valley of death alone, and I didn’t either.

What do you hope will be the result for readers of this Bible and its devotions?

Laurin Greco: Because God speaks through His living and active Word (Heb. 4:12) and because He knows us completely (Ps. 139:6), I know that readers will meet with God through His Word. And He’ll speak to them—just like He did with me in the writing. And I hope, as God speaks tenderly to His people whom He loves so much, that readers will see His good heart, feel His deep love for them, experience His infinite goodness, and fall in love with Him more than they ever imagined possible. Because He is good, good, good.

Bio: Laurin Makohon Greco is an author, editor, and mommy who lives in the Atlanta area with her author/editor husband, John, and her not quite author/editor newborn son, Jonah. For 11 years, Laurin served as the editor of YW magazine, a monthly devotional published by Walk Thru the Bible Ministries designed to help students get to know God through His Word. Under Laurin’s editorship, YW garnered eight Evangelical Press Association awards of excellence.