The Bible People See…

All my life I heard the saying, “You may be the only Bible anyone ever reads.”. I’ve heard this from pastors, youth pastors, Sunday school teachers, and even peers in school Bible clubs… But do we ever mean it? If we truly are the only bibles some people ever see, would they have read Jesus in you?

As the world keeps growing crazier, this saying popped into my head. I realized I have been thinking about this saying all wrong. I use to believe it meant that your loving, caring, honest, trustworthy, loyal, and go through life with a smile. After I got to thinking about it, that’s not what this saying means at all…. Don’t get me wrong: we all need to be kind especially in this day and age, but this saying doesn’t mean that.

If you look through the Bible itself you will see story after story of people who were suffering. They were begging for God to help them. They had a need, they had a want, they had sinned, etc and was crying for Jesus. Some like Job was punished physically by Satan, emotionally and financially as well. Sarah had to trust God that he would provide a baby. Mary not only carried Christ but had to trust God that Jospeh would marry her and people would stone her for being with child. (That was part of the law back then.) I could go on and on about each person & story. Each one had to trust God with everything they had in them. Each one was changed by their faith.

Which leads me to my point; In this day and age Christians are expected to be overly nice and accommodating. We are to smile nod & say “God bless” – never to raise an argument. In order to be the only Bible someone ever reads, what if they are moved by our faith? What if they see we don’t back down because we know God will see us through? What if they see that we are changed by our stories and that God brought us through victories they cannot explain? What if we prove that God is love, but he also has rules and regulations to protect us from the sins of this world. What if we raise up children; so grounded in their faith that they will not be shaken? If we truly rise up with the strength of eagle he said we will soar! Today more than ever we as Christians need to stand up, stand upon the power the God has instilled in us and be bold. They will come to attack us. They will come to take our liberties. They will try to shake us. If we truly want to be bibles that people can read , pick up your sword and stand upon the truth that we are Christ’s Children and we know who wins in the end!

Will this be scary? Yes . Will this be worth it? Yes. Paul said, “to die is to gain.” This world is crazy. It’s going out of control. We don’t know the truth because it’s being twisted ever which way. But let me tell you now, there is a book that has never changed ! The B-I-B-L-E , as I learned to spell it as a child, has never lost its power. As I sit writing this now, I cannot tell you the urgency of this power we need to get ahold of. One day we will have to choose who we will serve . There will come a day that there will not be anymore sitting on the side lines gossiping about who’s who’s and what’s what’s. There will not be any more “in between.”.

^“11Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. ¹² His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself. ¹³ He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. ¹⁴ And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses. ¹⁵ Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. ¹⁶ And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND
LORD OF LORDS.” Revelations 19:11-16

This day will come. This choice will happen. If you think the past few weeks have been crazy, well I’d say come talk to me on that day- but I’ll be gone. The choice is yours.

Christians, I now ask you; if you truly want to be the only Bible someone ever reads- now is your time to be the Daniel who didn’t back away from the window when he prayed. It’s to stand out. It’s to trust God so much that once thrown in that cave with the lions he didn’t fear. It’s time to be Noah, even though he was mocked he still built that boat. It’s time to now do what those once chose to do. This won’t be easy. And it’s only going to get worse. Should we be kind? Yes, but being a Christian isn’t just about being nice. It’s about doing the hard things God calls us to do.

So I now ask you, are you ready to step out on that water like Peter did in faith? The waves with crash against the boat… but if we keep our eyes upon Jesus, we won’t fall. Will you walk on the water? Or will you allow the waves of doubt to swallow you whole? Jonah tried to run from his calling, and he got swallowed up by a fish. You can’t hid from God.

I encourage you to be that Bible, but be the true one. The one that shows struggles are victories. Show them faith is power. Show them with God you can overcome. God isn’t just a big teddy bear looking all cute, he’s powerful!

God bless you and stay safe!

-Marli

Angel mom to Rhett, Rainbow mom to Selah