First, let me say how much I am enjoying the book study on “An Unlikely Lent.” But last week I read a story that bothered me. When the author was a young girl, one of her chores was to dust the entertainment center where the family Bible sat. First, I find it head-scratching that the family Bible was placed front and center on the entertainment center. But that is a story for another day.
What really bothered me was that the mother instructed the daughter not to use too much water when wiping the cover and not to open the Bible. As any kid does when a parent tells them not to do something, she opened the Bible and tore a page out. I can’t decide if the mother was more upset that the daughter disobeyed her or that she opened the Bible… the family Bible at that. What in the world was she thinking?
Here is a picture of my favorite Bible. In my years at Duke Divinity SchooI, I threw it in my book bag and fished it out of my book bag several times a day. There is scribbling all over it. One part that bothers me is that the first thirty-seven chapters of Genesis are missing, as are the last five books of the New Testament. Not to worry, I have plenty of Bibles. God’s Word is sacred. It is sacred because of the story it tells, not how it looks on your shelf.
Have Fun – David
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