Monday, September 3, 2012

WHAT'S REALLY PRECIOUS


These are their exact words: "Protect yourself from the problems of this world with... GOLD!" Then they tell you how easy it is to invest, clinking those pretty new coins together and saying: "The right gold, at the right price, right away."

Now don't get me wrong. Precious metals investment is okay if you want that (and if you have the money). But saying gold protects you "from the problems of this world?" Politicians don't even promise that. Indeed, the quest for gold has probably caused more problems in history than it has solved. 

But today I saw something more precious than gold, something that really CAN give us protection in the midst of the world's problems. This precious item was contained in a traveling exhibit, but it's probably also found in your home. It comes in several forms, sizes, colors and versions, and it's called, The Holy Bible

Today Carol and I and several of our friends drove to the Glen Eyrie Conference Center in Colorado Springs and saw "The Bible Through History." Dr. Joel Lampe, Curator of the Bible Museum in Goodyear, AZ, takes his traveling exhibit all over the world as he shows how we came to have the Holy Word of God in our English Bible translations. 

Dr. Lampe's presentation features copies of some Dead Sea Scrolls and cuneiform tablets, as well as authentic ancient Torah scrolls and old English Bibles. Besides seeing many precious displays and hearing scholarly presentations, participants were able to page through a Geneva Bible printed in 1585 (with Luther's notes) and a first edition King James Bible for the home printed in 1615.

I suppose these old Bibles have great value due to their age and authenticity. But their true value is in what they contain, the Holy Word of God about the Gospel of Jesus Christ as Savior of the world. Not all the gold in the world stacked up outside in the parking lot at Glen Eyrie would equal the value of the contents of those precious Bibles. Or of the Bible in your home, either.

The content of the Holy Bible is priceless. The Gospel has given life to countless men, women and children of all times and all places, rescuing them from eternal death and separation from God. The Gospel heals the wounds of sin and gives eternal life to the dying. The Bible is truly far more precious than gold.

And you probably have a Bible in your home. Do you know where it is? Have you opened it lately or is it covered with dust? Do you know what God tells you in it? 

It's yours - the right message, at the right price, right away."

No comments: