Psalm 119:105 – “Your word is a lamp unto my feet and a light for my path.”
I think about a story of the missionary who gave a Bible to the chief of an African village. The chief was so grateful for the gift and so full of thanks that the missionary was puzzled a few months later when they met again, for the Bible was battered and torn and looked as though many of the pages were missing. “I thought you would have taken better care of the Bible I gave you,” he remarked. “I assumed you wanted it and would treasure it.” And the man replied, “It’s the finest gift I ever received. It’s such a wonderful book that I gave a page to my father, a page to my mother, and then I gave a page to everyone in the village.” I like that. Don’t misunderstand, I’m glad for “read through the Bible in a year” guides, and I’m delighted that people read and study the Bible. But I do want to caution you, “Don’t be in a hurry.” There is great value in centering yourself in one place in the word and lingering there until it has time to sink deep in your life. Maybe it would do us all some good to have one page of the Bible, stay with that one page until you have learned it, until you have listened to it, until you have loved it, until its truth has taken hold of your life, and until your life has become transformed by it. It might be a good exercise this week to stay with one page of the Bible for a while.
I think about a story of the missionary who gave a Bible to the chief of an African village. The chief was so grateful for the gift and so full of thanks that the missionary was puzzled a few months later when they met again, for the Bible was battered and torn and looked as though many of the pages were missing. “I thought you would have taken better care of the Bible I gave you,” he remarked. “I assumed you wanted it and would treasure it.” And the man replied, “It’s the finest gift I ever received. It’s such a wonderful book that I gave a page to my father, a page to my mother, and then I gave a page to everyone in the village.” I like that. Don’t misunderstand, I’m glad for “read through the Bible in a year” guides, and I’m delighted that people read and study the Bible. But I do want to caution you, “Don’t be in a hurry.” There is great value in centering yourself in one place in the word and lingering there until it has time to sink deep in your life. Maybe it would do us all some good to have one page of the Bible, stay with that one page until you have learned it, until you have listened to it, until you have loved it, until its truth has taken hold of your life, and until your life has become transformed by it. It might be a good exercise this week to stay with one page of the Bible for a while.
– Dr. Tim Thompson