Only in religion does it seem that people mistake the map for the territory. They have a deep relationship with the Book but know nothing about an experiential relationship with the God of the Book.
The Bible is the Map
Think of the Bible as a map. A map is not the territory. A map is a symbolic representation of an actual reality.
Now if I go to a map, I point to a city, and I say that’s New York. You know that it’s the symbol of New York City, not the actual City itself. That’s a metaphor.
Likewise, the Bible is a map, a symbolic representation of an actual reality. That reality is God and our relationship with Him.
Knowing God Personally
And we should never mistake the map for the territory. People have ended up having a relationship with the map, but never have had the experience of the territory. They know about God, but they don’t know God personally. What a shame.
It’s like looking at a menu and not realizing that it’s not food. People are eating the menu, rather than procuring the food. The Bible is the menu, personal experience is the food. “O taste and see that the Lord is good” (Ps. 34:8).