Jump Start # 3747
2 Timothy 2:15 Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.
Went to a concert put on by the Louisville orchestra the other day. The featured piece was Alpine by German composer Richard Strauss. It is a long piece. The Louisville orchestra had never performed it before. Musicians from different parts of the country were flown in to participate in playing this piece. The piece contained two harps, an organ and a guy in the back who was turning something that made the sound of wind. You could just envision being on top of a mountain with the wind blowing. It was well done. It is now one of my favorite classical pieces.
There was a moment in the performance when just about every instrument was playing. It was full, rich, and very loud. I wondered how many millions of dollars worth of instruments were on the stage being used by the professionals. The musicians take very special care of their instruments. Not only, is it the means of their livelihood, but they understand and appreciate how valuable those instruments are. One never sees a cello player carrying his instrument on the top of his head or dragging it across the floor. If he did that, there is a good chance that the instrument wouldn’t sound the way he wanted it to. The musicians understand taking care of their instruments. Their love of music transfers to their love of their instruments.
I thought about that in regard to our Bibles. We don’t hold Bibles that costs millions of dollars, but they are expensive. And, what a wonderful lesson about taking care of our instrument, the Word of God.
I’ve seen some Bibles that are so crammed full of papers that it is a wonder the person can even carry it. Occasionally, when one drops such a Bible, a real mess takes place. All those papers come flying out and cover the floor. I’ve seen some toss their Bibles in the back seat of a car, like an old school book that they no longer care about.
There are certain things a person can do that will add years and life to their Bibles. A broken binding begins the death of many Bibles. And, when we have a favorite Bible, the thought of replacing it saddens us, especially when we have filled the margins with notes and things that we wanted to remember.
Be careful about stuffing too many papers in your Bible. Every once in a while, have a spring cleaning for your Bible and toss things that you no longer need or find another place for them. Once the binding separates from the pages, it doesn’t take long for some pages to become loose and fall out. I’ve had that happen. Had it happen when I was preaching once. Not only is that rather embarrassing, I needed the page that floated to the floor.
What can be done once the binding is broken? Having a Bible recovered is expensive. I know. I’ve had one done and I could have bought a case of Bibles for what I paid for that one. Once the insides start pulling away from the outside cover, use some gorilla glue up and down the spine. Then wrap several rubber bands around the book to hold it in place. Don’t touch it for a few days. Then, remove the rubber bands and the glue ought to hold the insides to the outsides.
There is yet another way that we need to take care of our instrument, the Bible. We need to handle it carefully and correctly. Like the folding of the American flag at a military funeral, we must be careful with the text of God’s word. Keep things in context. Look at who is speaking and who is being talked to. One can pull about any verse out of the Bible and make it say what he wants it to say. Mass murderer Charles Manson claimed Revelation nine was talking about the Beatles. Iron breastplates were the electric guitars. Long hair like women. Scorpion tails was the cords plugged into the amps. It’s all there if one wants to see that. But that’s not taking care of God’s instrument. A rock’ n roll band from Liverpool, generations later, isn’t much comfort to disciples who were being crushed by the Roman army.
Taking care of our instrument—both physically and spiritually is very important. What a blessing it is to have God’s divine word in our hands. I just expect Philip, when he saw the Ethiopian reading Isaiah, wondered what it would be like to have his own copy.
And, we must manifest the spirit and attitude that God’s word is amazing and the first and final say on any topic. God said it, and that’s it. It doesn’t matter whether we agree or not. It doesn’t matter if we like the conclusion or not. It doesn’t matter if we find other churches that are doing the opposite. God speaking to us, that’s what the Bible is.
When you treasure the word, you will treasure the Bible that holds that word. Taking care of your instrument is important. Musicians do that. Disciples do that, as well.
Roger