I don't mean to pick on people and I know the biblical instruction that if you've got something to talk to somebody about you should go to that somebody first and deal with it one-on-one, but I think, in this instance, I'm going to break the rule and I'm going to pick on someone right here in public. It's Pr. Jeff, my pastor-partner at Bethel Church in Grand Forks. More accurately, it's Jeff's Bible!

Oh, it's a good version and I know it's filled with underlining and all kinds of notes. I'm not sure about this at all, but it might even have little mementos and meaningful artifacts stuck in between some of the pages (you know: the first little flower Rhonda gave him when they were dating or a chunk of Kaitlyn's 3rd birthday cake...or something like that). All that's fine, but, you just have to see how beat up this Bible is! The spine is all torn and the covers are hanging loose, pages are crumpled and the edges are frayed...all in all, that Bible is a bit of a mess. And then he goes and carries it into the pulpit when he preaches! Oh, the humanity!

Well, I got to thinking about that and the more I thought about it, the more I thought how wrong I was to be so judgmental about the condition of a Bible that I felt should never be seen in public. Here's my conclusion:

Would you rather be preached to or taught by a person whose Bible never got used? Never got a word underlined? Never got a note written in the margin? Never took a little abuse because it was constantly taken from a shelf and, over time, got used up? No, I don't think so. I think we want to be preached to and taught by people who wear out their Bibles and, over time, they become so precious and full of good notes and sacred artifacts that you wouldn't think about getting rid of it.

I'll confess that in all my years I have never thrown away a Bible, no matter what kind of binding, no matter what version. I just can't do it. But, I've also purchased a lot of Bibles over the years and have used many of them for study, teaching, preaching and just plain reading. I've got all kinds of versions with all kinds of covers and all kinds of purposes for each one. None of them looks like Jeff's, though I have to say I've got a super RSV I wore out in the early 70s that a friend recovered in thick cowhide with stamped in lettering...that's one of my favorites...it's in a box somewhere...well, anyway.

Pr. Jeff Stephan's Bible is a symbolic challenge to me to be a person of the Word and to be so engaged in the study of that Word that I wear out a Bible or two along the way. I recently bought a brand new English Standard Version Study Bible. It's very thick (with somebody else's notes and comments) and quite heavy and it's got a beautiful black leather cover. I'm going to start wearing it out right away. What do you say: Let's see if we can all wear out a Bible through constant use. It might take a while, but let's give it a go.

Isaiah 40:7-8 "The grass withers, the flower fades when the breath of the Lord blows on it; surely the people are grass. The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever." But, you already knew that.

Bruce Stumbo serves on the pastoral team at Bethel LBC in Grand Forks, ND and is Editor of Faith & Fellowship magazine.
Contact him at: bstumbo@clba.org.

By Bruce Stumbo

Rev. Bruce Stumbo serves Inspiration LBC as Interim Pastor. He is also the author of the B-Log (Bruce Log).

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