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| The Bible - Who Needs It? (2 Timothy 3:16) | |||||
 Printer Friendly Version - opens in separate window Someone once told me that Joseph and Mary couldn't find a place to stay in Bethlehem because the hotels are always busy at Christmas. I wonder how he worked that one out. People say the silliest things don't they? When I was a child a relation of mine insisted that the world would be destroyed by fire. She also said that it would end in a flood. Figure that one out. She also said that the yellow race would take over the world. No doubt armed with matches and buckets of water. "And it's certainly true", she would insist, "'cos it's in the Bible."People "quote" the Bible in support of all sorts of fanciful and convenient ideas. For instance, believing that Eve offended God by eating an apple (The first time apples are mentioned in the Bible is in Proverbs 25:11, that's a long way from Genesis). Or that all the animals only went in two by two (they also went in seven by seven). Or that "Mary's boy-child Jesus Christ was born on Christmas day" (Whenever it was it was not "in the bleak midwinter"). Or that God turns a blind eye to what lovers do in the dark (Come on now). It's amazing how we seem able to make the Bible say whatever we want it to say. That is one of the reasons people give for ignoring it. They believe it's not trustworthy. That it contradicts itself. That it is mystical, unfathomable, and irrelevant to our modern age. But the Bible is reliable. How reliable? Read the following passage: "But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed." (Isaiah 53:5) Ask anyone who do they think it's talking about and they will probably say Jesus. But that passage is from the Old Testament and was written 600 years before Jesus was born. The Bible is so reliable it's accurate about the future. The Bible is a book we can understand. Have you ever met someone else's child for the first time and felt compelled to say, "She's the image of her mother."? or, "He has his father's ways".? Well read this; "[Jesus] is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of His being,..." (Hebrews 1:3) If you want to know what God is like you should look at Jesus. In fact that one sentence from Hebrews is the beginning of so many answers about God. You see when we see Jesus moving amongst people with compassion, that is God. When we recall the story of the good Samaritan we glimpse something of the heart of God for people. When the blind are made to see and the lame to walk, that is God meeting people where they are and saying, "I care". When we see the Cross and a suffering Jesus that is God saying, "I care so much I give you my best that you may, through Him, know wholeness." So, you see, understanding what it's all about isn't the daunting task many people imagine it to be. The Bible is relevant. The next time you feel like shaking your fist at the sky then consider yourself in good company. One Bible Prophet spoke to God in this way: "Why do you tolerate wrong? Destruction and violence are before me; there is strife, and conflict abounds...and justice never prevails." (Habakkuk 1:3,4) Some things never change, eh? We can certainly identify with Habbakkuk's complaint. God had an answer for Habbakkuk and He has an answer for you. Habbakkuk was listening. Are you? Listening means paying attention. Paul, in the New Testament, said: "...what may be known about God is plain to [us], because God has made it plain to [us]." (Romans 1:19) He has made it plain through the wonders of creation, through His servants the prophets and through His Son, Jesus Christ (remember - the radiance of God's glory?). What's it all about? Read your Bible and find out for yourself. |
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