My grandfather was a man of faith. He loved the Lord and loved to share it with others. He often carried a small New Testament in his shirt pocket to read or share with others. After his death it was the one item my Aunt Pauline really wanted.
This weekend I was talking with her and she shared with me that after having it for several years she felt led to give to a young man from her church who was going over to Iraq. She wanted him to be able to carry the Word with him wherever he went. She then shared with me that the young man had returned but had left the little Bible for another soldier still over fighting in the war. I felt certain that was exactly what Grandpa would have wanted to see happen to his little New Testament.
I can't stop thinking about it. How beautiful to think of Grandpa's little bible ministering to someone on the other side of the world. Once upon a time Grandpa was on the other side of the world in a war and there were men there to encourage his growing faith. Now it sort of feels like Grandpa is over in Iraq returning the gift he was given to a new generation of soldiers.
It has also made me think of all the bibles I have here at home. My childhood bibles, gift bibles, various versions of the bible. I really only ever look at one or two of them. The rest I keep for sentimental reasons. Yet that is not the point of the Bible. It isn't just a book to keep on a shelf and remind me of a person or time in my life. It is God's Word. "The word of God is living and active" (Heb 4:12). It doesn't want to sit on a shelf. It wants to be out in the world speaking to people, traveling from place to place. It wants to journey with us as we live our lives.
I have purged several books this year from my shelves but not the bibles. Maybe it is time to make a little more room on the bookshelves by sharing God's word with someone who really needs it.
