The Word of God?  Really?

Imagine this.  Jesus suddenly appears in your home.  He looks around at the members of your family and says, "I want you to give you something so you will know about myself, and about my plans for you."  Then he quietly sits down at your kitchen table and begins to write a letter.  He writes for some time.  When he is finished, he stands up, hands you the letter, and leaves with this final comment, "Treasure this.  It's all you need to know".

What would you do with that letter?  Would you fold it up, put it on the shelf, and say, "This is great.  I'll have to get around to reading this some time time."?  Would you glance over it quickly and say, "That's nice, I'll keep this in a treasured place."?  Or would you pour over it, study it, memorize it, and share its amazing message with everyone you meet?

This past Sunday we had the first class of our Christian Living Academy.  We talked about the Bible.  We discussed it's origins and its characteristics, but mostly we considered why we believe it is the authentic word of God to us. We talked about the fact that this is God's way of telling us about himself, his plans for us, and how we can live in a right relationship with him.  

When I came to the final and most important part I found it very difficult to express myself.  That is, with such overwhelming proof that this Bible is actually God's way of revealing himself to us, what should our response be?  Put it on the shelf?  Glance at it once in a while?  Or study it eagerly and often to discover what the one who created us has to say?

I suppose if Jesus appeared and wrote to us as I described, it would be more dramatic and we may respond a little differently.  Maybe the problem for us is that we have always had this book and we are so good at taking things for granted.   While Christians in some other places would give anything to actually own a Bible, most of us have had multiple copies in our homes for as long as we can remember.  It's always been there, and while we feel some sentimentality toward it, like an old friend, how often do we actually think about the fact that we are holding in our hands a letter from the Almighty God, a letter he wrote so we would know everything we need to know.  How long has it been, if ever, since I was literally in awe over the fact that I have in my possession the greatest treasure I could ever possess, the words of the creator to me!

Note the words of Paul in 2 Timothy 3, 15 - 17.  "and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.  All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work."

If we could only have a new appreciation for what it means to hold in our hands the message from God.  If we could only grasp the awesome value of being able to read the words the creator felt we needed to hear.  I suppose we would spend more quality time learning what God wanted to say to us, and how to apply it to our lives.  Now that would be spiritual growth!