Do we take owning a Bible for granted?
By Sheryl Boldt
What was your favorite Christmas present ever? But what if someone informed you that you had a far greater gift, a true treasure, hidden in your home or backyard? Wouldn’t you search for it? And keep searching until you found it?
Consider Proverbs 2:3-5 (ESV): “If you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding, if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God.”
What would happen if, especially as we enter a new year, we valued God’s wisdom (understanding) as much as we value silver or hidden treasure? How much different would our lives look if we regularly searched God’s Word for nuggets of wisdom with as much energy and excitement as if we were searching our backyard for nuggets of silver? With the same anticipation we had while opening our Christmas presents?
One of the easiest ways to obtain wisdom is to read the Bible. Yet many of us take God’s Word for granted. We don’t realize how much we need our heavenly Father’s counsel for every area of our lives.
Likewise, have we considered how valuable it is to fear God? And what a treasure it is to know our heavenly Father? If we truly valued God’s Word, we’d spend every possible minute searching through its pages – as if we were indeed seeking the greatest treasure of all.
Imagine what would happen if owning a Bible were suddenly against the law. Would we instantly regret taking God’s Word for granted?
Could it be that we’re spoiled by easy access to Scripture? Is this why the Bible doesn’t have the same appeal for us as it does in oppressed nations?
What if we could obtain only one page of the Bible at a time and had to memorize it before passing it along? This is what Chinese believers do in prison. They memorize entire books of the Bible this way.
Do we crave to understand “the fear of the Lord” and “the knowledge of God” as much as the Chinese believers? Would we be willing to spend as much time and effort – even at the risk of our lives?
Thankfully, we don’t have to – at least not yet.
Let’s not wait until it’s too late to treasure God’s Word. Instead, let’s seize the gift we already have and seek His wisdom with joy and diligence this new year and beyond.
Sheryl H. Boldt writes fiction and non-fiction for children and adults. Her devotions appear in 34+ newspapers. She is also the author of the blog, www.TodayCanBeDifferent.net. Connect with her at [email protected].
