The Word

Since 1998, I've used the same leather-bound Ryrie Study Bible.  Its cover is worn. Some of the pages are tattered. Verses are underlined or highlighted.  Page margins are filled with inked notes, both from sermons and my own discoveries of Truth.

It's well traveled. I've taken it with me to church, on business trips, and vacations.  It even traveled with me on a mission trip to Brazil.  Daily, it's my continual roadmap in my faith walk.  As I turn the pages, dates and underlined verses remind me of specific lessons God has taught me over the years.  It has become a familiar, comfortable friend.

However, when added to the other necessities in my airline carry-on backpack, that Bible is as heavy as a chunk of concrete.  I tried a Bible app on my iPad, but it just wasn't the same as resting a book in my lap and turning the pages.  So, I recently bought a smaller, lightweight Bible for the sole purpose of being my travel companion.   

In preparation for upcoming travel, and as part of "breaking it in," I've been reading from my new Bible. I've been highlighting and underlining significant verses that have spoken to me over the years. But, honestly, using it has been a struggle. I feel like something's missing. Perhaps its because I don't have a history with it. In some ways, I feel like I am being unfaithful to my faithful old Ryrie.  Determined to make my new Bible familiar, I've been persisting through my attachment issues.

Then something curious happened.  When I opened my new Bible, a strong, once-familiar scent radiated from its crisp pages. Instantly, vivid memories crowded my mind and stirred my senses. I was 7-years old again sitting on a dark wooden pew at Mt. Moriah Baptist Church.  The morning sunlight streamed through the stained glass windows casting rainbow colors across the pale green walls of the sanctuary.  In my lap, I held my brand new white leather bound King James Version Bible.  The cover was soft and textured, and with my name engraved in silver foil, I knew it was valuable.  I also knew the words, especially the ones in red, were important.  I took special care as I turned the tissue thin pages, captivated by the full color photos of far away places.  As I turned the pages, an unusual scent filled my nostrils; it didn't smell like the purple-colored mimeographed copies of the handouts in school, but it was just as pleasing.

As the memory faded, I got up and went to get that Bible from its resting place. Even now, almost a half-century later, the scent is still trapped within the pages. I gently turned the pages. There were a few underlined verses, notes from a Sunday school lesson, a red felt bookmark with foiled stars that I made in Vacation Bible School, and a delicate hand-tatted bookmark my grandmother made.  I remembered how I'd struggled over the years to understand the language of the King James Version; I thought I just wasn't smart enough to "get it."  In 9th grade, while attending Sunday school on a military base, I was given a paperback version of the Good News for Modern Man.  For some reason, it seemed foreign and not like a real Bible, so I reverted back to my familiar — even if intimidating — KJV.   As young adult, I bought a hardback New International Version.  Eventually, it ended up on a shelf collecting dust when I entered a long prodigal season.  When divorce catapulted me back into the church, I dusted it off and used it until I could afford a new leather-bound Ryrie Study Bible.

As I thought about my journey with Bibles, I realized it wasn't the binding of the Bible, the underlined verses, note-filled margins, or sentimental bookmarks that make my everyday Bible familiar; it's The Word that makes it familiar.

It's The Word that teaches me the stories of His faithfulness and steadfast love.  Words of truth, mercy and grace that are alive and actively wooing me to walk closer with Him. Words that bring me hope when I'm stuck in the muck and mire.  Words of gentle correction and redirection when I've lost my way.  Words that declare His unceasing and unwavering love. Words which encourage me to keep on keeping on.  The Word is a light in my darkness.  The calm in my storm. The guide through my valley. The way to the mountaintop.  These written words are a love letter from The Word Himself!

I ran my hand over my new Bible's imitation pink leather.  It may not be my faithful Ryrie Study Bible, but if I give it a chance, it too will be a familiar friend.  After all, I have places to go and things to do.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

- John 1:1