"the law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple." - psalm 19:7
at church this morning, rhonda smith - our children's minister - gave each of our first graders their first bible. we always have this ceremony each fall for our new "firsties"! but, something special hit me this morning.
as i was watching the eight or nine kids sitting around ms. rhonda, i noticed how intently most of them were listening to the words she was sharing. she showed them her old bibles from when she was a child. she explained just how precious the Word of God is to her and all of us as Christians. she explained how their bibles should come to look like they were worn in and well-read.
after she finished, she passed each one their own bible. if only you could have seen their big, round eyes as they took the big bible into their little hands. one little girl particularly caught my eye. she had been eagerly eyeing the bibles as they sat in their stacks until rhonda passed them out. when she took hold of hers, she opened it with such eagerness to look at the pages. it was if she knew what great secrets lie within those pages. you could see just that she held bible with such care - like she was completely comprehending the preciousness of the Word of God.
the newness of the gift was overwhelming for her. she didn't know whether to flip rapidly through the pages or just hold it reverently. shouldn't it be like that each time we hold God's Word?
as we get older, we lose the preciousness of things in life. what used to make the entire day a hit or a bust is now all relevant to us. we take it in stride and move on. but as Christians, we need to allow things to put us in awe. we need to allow the things of God to stop us in our tracks because we don't know how to respond - except with pure and holy worship for the Lord our God.
opening our bible - the very Word of the Living God - should move us to worship, to eagerly devour all that is within or to just hold it reverently and thank the Lord that He has given us such a perfect and life-breathing gift!
that little girl was so very proud that she had her very own bible. she held it with such tender caring know that Jesus loved her because her bible told her so! she had a determined obedience set upon her face - an obedience to please her God.
how proud are you of the bible that you hold? when was the last time you opened it with the understanding and realization that you were holding the very words of the Living God?
so what's the big deal? it's a bible!
"how sweet are Your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth! Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path." - psalm 119:103,105
my love to you in Christ Jesus,
ashleigh
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