His Word Stands the Test of Time

A friend of mine has a Bible that has been used for a long time now. The cover is worn, peeling off and almost gone. The inside is all marked up with underlined verses and notes written in the margins. At times I think maybe I should at least buy her a Bible cover or something. But then I stop and think about the beauty in seeing that Bible that way. Some days it is even convicting for me to look at it.

What is it about a worn out Bible that is so precious? For me, seeing it is a reminder of several things.

• The Word of God will always be and will stand the test of time.
• The Word of God never changes. No matter how many changes happen to the cover, what is written inside is forever intact (spiritually speaking).
• God speaks through his Word. The notes in the margins and the underlines are there because during times of reading that Word, the Lord spoke to the person reading it.

 The picture below is a picture of her Bible next to my Bible. This is the convicting part for me. My Bible (though it is only about a year old) just last week started getting marked up and has not gotten much wear. I used to think that I shouldn't write in my Bible and that I need to protect it. Well, if I am not marking in it then what am I doing? Reading the Word of God is wonderful, but if I only read, I am probably not retaining much and I am certainly not focusing on studying. We encourage our kids to highlight and underline in their books while they study for school, so why would we not do the same thing while studying the Word of God.

 

So, I know it will take some time, but my challenge to myself, is to one day make my Bible look like hers. I want to one day be able to say that my Bible looks like this because I use it so often. I want one day for someone else to tell me that my Bible makes them wish they read theirs more.