Living Words

Is the Bible just empty words--or do its pages point us to a path leading to eternal life?

There is no doubt the Bible is unique. It is the only book ever written where you need to know the author for it to make sense!

You can read it and understand the history. But you have to meet the author in the person of Jesus Christ for it to change your soul.

“Now hold on just a minute! How can you meet Jesus? Didn’t he live 2,000 years ago?”

You meet him in the New Testament of the Bible. He changes your life when you personally accept him for who he claimed to be: the divine Son of God and the Savior of the world.

Unfortunately not everyone who reads it believes it. In fact there have been people who memorized much of the New Testament but never met Jesus or believed in him.

On February 11, 1962, Parade Magazine published a brief article about such a person called “Still Munching Candy.”

“At the village church in Kalonovka, Russia, attendance at Sunday school picked up after the priest started handing out candy to the peasant children. One of the most faithful was a pug-nosed, pugnacious lad who recited his Scriptures with proper piety, pocketed his reward, then fled into the fields to munch on it.”

“The priest took a liking to the boy and persuaded him to attend church school. This was preferable to doing household chores from which his devout parents excused him.”

“By offering other inducements, the priest managed to teach the boy the four Gospels. In fact, he won a special prize for learning all four by heart and reciting them nonstop in church.”

“Now, 60 years later, he still likes to recite Scriptures, but in a context that would horrify the old priest. For the prize pupil, who memorized so much of the Bible, is Nikita Khrushchev, the former Communist Premier.” [Khrushchev died in 1971, nine years after the article was written.]

As this story illustrates, the “why” behind learning is just as important as the “what” that is learned. The same Nikita Khrushchev who mouthed God's Word as a child, later declared God to be nonexistent -- because his cosmonauts had not seen Him.

Khrushchev memorized the Scriptures for the candy, the rewards and the bribes, rather than for the meaning it had for his life. Artificial motivation produced artificial results.

Sadly, Nikita didn’t believe what he read in the Bible. For him it was dead words.

But Jesus said, “The words I have spoken to you are life.” So what happened to Nikita?

Jesus once compared the good news of the Gospel to seed. Even though seed resembles an inanimate object (like a pebble), it contains life.

For the life to show itself, the seed must be planted in good soil. If you put seed in a rock garden it will never take root or bear fruit.

A receptive mind seeking truth is good soil for God’s word. When a person hears the good news that Jesus died on the cross for their sin and rose from the dead to give them new life, the seed is sown. When they believe it and trust it to be true, new life takes root in their soul.

“Believe” is the key word. The reader must personally believe Christ died for him or her and trust in him. When they do, God forgives their sin and gives them the gift of eternal life.

This is why the Scripture says, “For the word of God is living and active.” Far from being dead words, the Bible is the only book in the world that can bring hope and life to the hopeless.

Listen to the Bible; it’s great for your soul!

Goodbye, Hello

Last week we said goodbye to our cat. She died Thursday, old and well loved.

Bria was faithful. She met us at the door with a meow. She sat in our laps while we watched TV. She lay on the floor near my feet while I worked on my computer.

She didn’t ask for much but gave a lot of love in return. She was a comforting companion.

It hurt to see her suffer. It hurt that we could do little to help. At least she didn’t suffer long.

If you’ve ever lost a pet, you know what we’ve been through. There’s an empty place in our home. I keep expecting to see her out of the corner of my eye.

On top of that, a special aunt also passed away last week. She was my dad’s closest sister.

I remember visiting in Aunt Jean’s home as a child and playing with my cousins. My uncle Joe was a preacher, too. Just like my dad. Now all three of them are gone.

My aunt’s passing reminded me of how much I miss my father. And my heart went out to my cousins who have had to say goodbye to both mother and father.

Losing a relative or a pet we love hurts. Every other time we said goodbye, we hoped to see them again. But last week we had to say the final goodbye. Twice.

The Bible compares death to a sting. At first the loss of a loved one can be almost unbearable. But with time the pain lessens. Eventually the heart heals. Until the next sting.

One thing about life I wasn’t prepared for. The longer you live the more you see death.

My dad came home from a funeral once and, from what he told me, it was one of the most difficult he ever had as a pastor. A man in his early forties had died in a hunting accident. His family was so distraught that they literally tried to pull him out of the coffin. True story.

Now while I miss my dad and others who have passed on, I have a sure hope I will see them again. And that helps me cope with grief.

OK, hold it right there for just a minute. Why is it that Christians talk about seeing their dead loved ones again? Isn’t that a little weird?

Not if you’re a student of the Bible.

The Bible teaches that there is life after this life. But it also says that decisions we make in this life affect our destination in the next.

God doesn’t want anyone to be surprised in eternity. So he tells us the facts of eternal life.

The Bible says people have eternal souls. It tells us that eternal life is available to everyone through faith in Jesus Christ.

What must you believe? That you are a sinner and you need a Savior. That Jesus died on the cross to pay the penalty for your sin. And that if you trust in him, Jesus will save your soul and take you to Heaven.

The Bible tells us that Heaven and Hell are real places. Just like New York City or Chicago.

For the Christ follower, the Bible says, “To be away from the body” is to be “at home with the Lord.” Reincarnation? No. With the Lord Jesus Christ.

Jesus once told a story that explained how we would one day join those who have died in faith before us. He said we would recognize them and be able to communicate with them. So while it’s “Goodbye” now, it will be “Hello” soon. Heaven is an amazing place!

So while saying a final goodbye is difficult, for the Christ follower it is an exercise of confident hope. Because we know that, one day soon, we will see our loved ones in Heaven.

Listen to the Bible; it’s great for your soul!