What is Bible Verse Mapping?

It's the new way of Bible journaling that is growing by the day, so we answer the question...

You may have seen the phrase a couple of times now. Bible Verse Mapping. It seems more and more people are Bible Verse Mapping, posting images from their own verse mapping, using lots of coloured pens and making new connections throughout the Bible. It’s a new way to read the Bible.

But what exactly is it?

In short, it’s lightly-guided Bible journaling.

Most journalling Bibles feature the Bible text with wings of blank space for your own notes on each page, and perhaps an introductory guide near the beginning. They give you the space to be creative, thoughtful and curious when reading the Bible. But they can often give you a major case of Blank Page Syndrome. You’ve got the text and space, but nothing is forthcoming.

Enter Bible Verse Mapping.

A little like sentence diagramming, Bible Verse Mapping encourages you to break down a single verse into pieces small enough to understand, and then put it all back together again.

First, you pick a verse. Any verse (John 11:35 may be a little tricky to break down to its constituent parts, though). You can pick one at random, through prayerful choice, through what resonates with you, or by closing your eyes and putting your finger on a page. Then you compare it. Not with nearby verses, but with different translations. See what changes, what stays the same, and why you think that is. What is the heart of the verse?

Then, after that, Cross Reference! See where it relates. Does is bear shades of another Bible verse? (there are plenty of cross-referencing books and specific Bibles to help you here).

Then step 4; look at what is happening. Much like reading a novel in school, approach this in the terms of plot, character, setting and context, as well as what Bible doctrines may come from this verse. After all, you can’t just separate what is happening for what is being said. You don’t need to follow all of these breadcrumbs, however. Just go where you feel led.

By this point you will know the verse pretty well. You know its setting, what it’s saying (and how), what is happening, and how it relates to the rest of the Bible. But now is the most important part:

How is God speaking to you in this verse?

This is where the Bible impacts your life. Taking the time to meditate on a verse, knowing all that you now know, you’ll be able to grow all that information into a gestalt of life-changing proportions. The verse becomes more than the sum of its parts. Now it’s the keyhole through which you’ve seen more of God’s word than you thought one verse could possibly offer. Like Pirsig’s Brick from Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, you see much more not by looking a lot, but by looking closely at a single, small thing. A single Bible verse.

But ok, that’s a lot to remember. I’ve just presented you with a list of questions and approaches to reading a single Bible verse. Handily, you don’t have to commit this post to memory (although, I will be supremely flattered if you do!).

This year NIV are releasing a Bible especially made for Bible Verse Mapping. The aptly titled NIV Bible for Journalling and Verse-Mapping. Available in a floral or kintsugi* design, all the steps of Bible Verse Mapping are presented in delightful guide pages. There is the space to answer the questions, as well as blank pages for more notes, and pages for colouring when you want to wind down in the Bible.

Instead of being daunted at reading all the Bible to understand it, just take it one verse at a time.

So there it is. Now go forth and Bible Verse Map like a pro!

And when you’ve done of our own, be sure to share on Pinterest and check out our own Bible Journaling Board.