When I was little, we learned many songs in Sunday school. There was “Jesus Loves Me,” “Jesus Loves the Little Children of the World,” “The B I B L E,” and “I’m in the Lord’s Army,” among many others. I’m not completely certain of this, but it seems to me that the first word I learned to spell was Bible because of the aforementioned song. Spelling the word, “Bible” began an important declaration. In that song, my young soul exclaimed that the Bible was the book for me, that I stood alone on the Word of God, and made it clear that I was singing about the Bible by spelling it out again. That little song contained powerful, life-altering wisdom. There is no standard of truth, rule for life, or repository of wisdom available for reading greater than the Holy Bible.
As I grew up, I learned about great followers of Christ who’d changed the world because of their unrelenting determination to adhere to the Bible. One such man was Martin Luther who spearheaded the Protestant Reformation with the understanding that people are saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, as revealed by Scripture alone, to the glory of God alone. There is that little word alone again and again. Alone in this case does not mean that a person is a hermit, but that only these things are required. Nothing but the grace of God received through Jesus Christ as revealed in the Holy Bible can save the human soul from sin’s condemnation. This great grace that reveals that God truly loves people and wants all to be saved if they are willing to be saved is in no way a work of human production. We cannot take any credit. This great salvation is from first to last a gift from God wrought by His own efforts. God alone deserves the glory for saving the world.
Another man I learned about was John Wesley. He was a clergyman of the Church of England around the time of the birth of the United States of America. John wanted to be holy and pleasing to God and was extremely disciplined in His approach to living a holy life. One of the things about John that impressed me as a child was that he declared that he was a man of one book. By which Rev. Wesley meant the Bible. John saturated his life with the Word of God. This inspired me to seek to do the same.
The Word of God is the authoritative, God-inspired standard for all things pertaining to life and godliness. Godliness means living to please God. The Bible is best understood when read thoroughly and often alongside much prayer matched by obedience to its teachings. When I was young and first began systematically and repeatedly reading the Bible cover to cover there was much that I did not understand. But as I continued to read and study the Bible more became clear. Difficult names soon became familiar. As did the connections between people and events in the Bible. Questions about various things impelled me to dig deeper, often finding answers. I had to learn that the Bible did not always tell me everything I wanted to know, but never failed to tell me what I needed to know. Further, daily study of God’s Word has caused me to encounter new things in familiar passages nearly all the time. God speaks to us when we come to His Word with devotion and reverence.
If I were to be a castaway on a deserted island, among the limited number of items I hope I’d have to aid in my survival, I’d want a Bible. Yes, that’s the book for me.
Contact Pastor Lamb at icumc@yahoo.com.
