That Book

Do we treasure the many copies of the Bible that we hoard on our bookshelves?

Do we open the different versions; treasure the smoothness of the paper, even read a verse or two? Or do we leave them on a dusty shelf never to be really appreciated? Did they belong to a much-loved relative?

 As Sir Winston Churchill said in his book “Painting as a pastime…

“If you cannot read all your books, at any rate, handle, or as it were, fondle them – peer into them, let them fall open where they will, read from the first sentence that arrests the eye, set them back on the shelves with your own hands, arrange them on your own plan so that if you do not know what is in them, you at least know where they are. Let them be your friends; let them at any rate be your acquaintances. If they cannot enter the circle of your life, do not deny them at least a nod of recognition.” 

Think of this quote in the context of the Bible. Do we peer into our (many) versions? Do we open them, let them fall to well-worn places that our Granny read and re-read? Do we let them speak to our heart or do we let them languish on dusty shelves, waiting to speak to us while our eyes avoid them and our ears refuse to listen to their wisdom?

For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. (Hebrews 4:12, NIV)

Prayer- Today Lord, show us your word through another version, a treasured one previously unvisited. In Christ. Amen.