If your house was on fire and you were only allowed to chose one object (obviously all the people and pets are safe in this scenario) to save, what would it be?
For me, it would be my Bible.
But why? Today, Bibles are not rare – more than five billion copies have been sold worldwide, and over 100 million last year alone. Not only are there millions of Bibles circulating in the world, but now, with the innovations in technology, there are so many free Bible apps that you could have a different Bible on every device you own!
Surely then, it is a strange object to save if you could choose only one. It is not unique after all.
For a moment, let us consider the following scene: a person bursts through a door shouting, loudly and excitedly, that he has just discovered the word of God for the first time! Just imagine it. Would you be excited?
Yet there was a time when it was truly exhilarating to find the word of God. This story is not fictional, but based upon an actual event. It is something that happened during biblical times, a long time ago. During Jeremiah’s time, Hilkiah the high priest found the book of the law and gave it to Shaphan, the scribe, who brought it before the king of Judah – King Josiah (2 Kings 22:8).
Imagine what it must have been like for the young king to hear the word of God read to him for the very first time. On hearing the law, the king was moved with such emotion that he told everyone in Judah about God’s holy ways.
Now bring this stirring account back to us. Are we excited about opening the word of God and reading it (Acts 17:11)2 Do we long to read our Bibles? Have you ever been so interested, so absorbed, in a section of scripture that you have spent hours studying it, even into the long hours of the night? Do you read the Bible daily to learn more about God’s plan? Do you consider it the most precious possession you have? Our answers are good indicators of how much we genuinely love and value the Bible.
The value of our Bible is not in its printing and binding but in its words. The words have come from God Himself, the author of this extraordinary book. Although many people own a copy, sadly few read it today – as predicted by Jesus when he said, “when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:8).
Let us try to emulate the same level of excitement and enthusiasm for God’s precious word as Hilkiah, Shaphan and King Josiah. Read it every day and at every opportunity and love its words and message. And let us make it central in our lives and view it as the most precious thing we possess.
Tell others you have found the word of God!