November 27thAn Advent Gift
An Advent Gift
I think I have always loved studying the Bible. In elementary school, my friend and I went to the same church and attended Sunday School classes. In addition to this, some of us kids gathered for a few weeks in someone’s home one year where they were teaching us about the Bible.
Mostly what I remember was that we were memorizing the beginning of Luke chapter 2 in preparation for Christmas. At the end of these classes, we recited the passage we had memorized. . . . and were surprised by the gift of a small New Testament with a silver cover and silver page edging. I was so elated to have won this prize! I happily walked home afterwards in the snowy streets with my heart glowing. When I arrived home, however, I discovered that the little silver Bible was missing! Somewhere along the way I must have lost it! How could I lose something so precious?!
Even though I lost that physical Bible somewhere, I never lost my love for the Bible. I’m sure I remembered the beginning of Luke for many years after that. Some passages have been impressed in my memory by being set to music. And other passages I have memorized have helped me through some trying times like cancer treatments. Passages I had memorized like the 23rd Psalm and the Lord’s Prayer have helped me when I was going through an MRI or waiting for surgery or feeling ill from chemotherapy.
Getting together with friends for Bible study is still one of my greatest joys, whether it’s Monday afternoon, Sunday morning with kids or adults, or through online classes from CMU xplore or AMBS.
So even though I lost that special little Bible, I still remember it, I still remember what a gift the Bible is and has been in my life, and I still enjoy learning about the Bible and God’s Word. Who knows? Maybe someone found that little Bible on the street or in a snowbank and it came as a precious gift to them, just as the birth of Jesus, the Word made flesh, comes as a precious gift to us.