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The Most Important Book in the Universe
by Robert Driskell No sane person can look around at the plight of human beings and say that we aren't in trouble. Morality is sinking to an all-time low, people treat people with callous disregard, and most solutions to these issues most often prove to be hollow and futile. Most likely, your personal life is suffering, in one way or another, from this malady. Therefore, how important would you say a book that held all the answers to all of humanity's problems be? Would you consider a book that addresses our fundamental problems to be worth reading? I contend that the Bible is just that Book (hence, my capitalization of the word 'book') and that the answers to humanity's problems are contained within its pages. This article will be based on my belief that it is the Word of God. There are many reasons for accepting this point of view; but they will have to be taken up in a different article. Here we will focus, however briefly, on what the Bible says about itself. The New Testament book of Romans contains a wealth of biblical teaching, presented in a straightforward manner. Here we have a statement of purpose concerning the Word of God, "For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope" (Romans 15:4 NASB). The Bible contains the history of humanity, not every detail (nothing about planes, trains, or automobiles), but the origin, purpose, problem, and solution to what ails us. In the book of Genesis, the Bible tells us that we were created in a paradise, created to worship our Creator, given a free will, and allowed to exercise that free will to make choices. Tragically, our first ancestors chose to disobey God (they doubted His Word, they called His integrity into question, and decided they knew better than He), bringing sin into the human equation and corrupting our relationship with God. Humans have chosen to disobey God ever since, bringing upon humanity the kind of degradation and evil we see all over the world. The Bible tells us that it contains what we need in order to know how to be forgiven of our sin and reconciled to God. We read of the importance, and ability, of Scripture in Second Timothy, "All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness" (II Timothy 3:16 NASB). Think about that a moment; God's Word is able to 'train us in righteousness'. This means that God's Word is the standard for love, truth, justice, forgiveness, compassion, and any other good and true concept that exists. Isn't a world full of these qualities what each of our hearts truly desire? Are we really satisfied with the lies, deception, evil, hate, bigotry, injustice, etc. that permeates our society, our world, our very hearts, today? I pray there is still some sanity left on our planet. Again, I ask, would a book containing the solution to all of our problems be worth reading? I say "Yes" and I encourage you to investigate what the Word of God says. Ask God to reveal His Truth to you as you read it. Only do this if you realize that there is something terribly wrong with our world and the human heartyours and mine. God has given us His Word, He has not left us in the dark; but we must read it (having a Bible on the coffee table, or in a drawer somewhere, does not constitute a knowledge of it). If we seek Him, we will find Him (Deuteronomy 4:29); but we must put forth the effort to seek HimHe has already done everything necessary for us to find Him. "But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one's own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God" (II Peter 1:20-21 NASB). God has written a book to humanityit's called the Bible. Don't be a fool (Psalm 14:1); read it. Seeking to introduce people to Jesus Christ and to help them become "transformed by the renewing of their mind." Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com |