Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. Matthew 24:35
Recently, I was sorting through some stuff and packing a few things away for our upcoming move and came across this little old Bible. When Louis’s mother died a few years back, the family was sorting through the material items she left behind, and this old book was among the things laid out among many items to see if anyone in the family wanted it. No one seemed interested in this little old beat-up book, so…. being a lover of old, primitive and historical items, I grabbed it and took it home.
I have a collection of old Bibles I just love. I have some that are HUGE – 6 inches thick and weigh several pounds! They have beautifully decorated covers and intricate art work in them. But, this smaller, more plain, simple, well-worn and tattered little Bible is a treasured item because it belonged to family. Tucked inside we found a picture of its original owner known by the family as ‘Old Mammy’ who was Louis’s great grandmother. What a neat photo to go along with the Bible as it is appears she is actually holding it and reading it in the picture. Along with the photo was a slip of paper with writing on it that we recognized as Louis’s mother’s handwriting telling whose Bible it was and the date. The date is 1783 – as of writing this in 2021, that makes it 238 years old – that is pretty darn old for a little book made of fragile paper!
The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever. Isaiah 40:8
Scripture tells us that God’s word is eternal and that it will stand forever and this little Bible is making a good run at it! Tattered and torn with a few pages missing. The bugs have even had a slight go at devouring it. The cover worn off from use, someone cherished it enough to stitch it back together using old cloth as the binder for the spine. If I had my guess, there is a good chance the fabric is from old feed sack cloth which you can see the pattern of from the inside. We will treasure it and take as good of care of it to preserve it as we possibly can, but sure many years from now it will eventually find it’s way back to dust. But, the words of truth printed on the now very fragile pages will stand for eternity, even when this little cherished Bible is long gone and forgotten.
And the words of the LORD are flawless, like silver purified in a crucible, like gold refined seven times. Psalms 12:6
Today, many homes of faith most likely have not just one, but several copies of the Bible within their walls, I know we do. But, with all the business and distractions we have today in our modern-day lives – I bet many barely glance at the living and active words contained within its pages on a regular basis that are God’s gift of life and eternal salvation to us all.
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
Thinking – if all our Bibles were as well-used as this little tattered, torn and worn out as this one is – we would all be a lot closer to living the lives God intended for us and the world would be a much better place!
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. 2 Timothy 3:16-17
But He answered and said, “It is written, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.”” Matthew 4:4
May you always find make the time to spend in HIS word – time spent with HIM and in HIS word are never wasted!
Shawn
