A Lot to Learn

Several years ago one of the members of a Bible study I was teaching made a comment that I may never forget; but before I tell you what he said, let me tell you a little about him.

He was a dentist in the small town where we lived. He was married and had two children who were both active in the church’s youth program. He sang in the choir and served on a committee or two in the church. He was also active in the local chapter of a men’s service organization.

One evening about halfway through the thirteen-week course he shared this comment: “I just have to admit that there has been something that has puzzled me for a long time. I mean I see people in their sixties and seventies carrying their Bibles to Sunday School class and I think, ‘Well, it’s a big book, but it’s not that big. Don’t they know what it says yet?’”

It was a real breakthrough moment for him. Up to that point he had considered the Bible to be one of the many books in the world. He had studied lots of textbooks and still read scores of journal articles to practice his profession. He kept up with news and sports and encouraged his children to be good students (which they were); but somehow the Bible had remained just another book to him.

Accepting the free gift of grace God offers us through Jesus Christ is essential to becoming a person of faith. “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9). Nevertheless, Jesus told his followers there was more to making disciples than just initiating them into the movement. “Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you” (Matthew 28:20).

The world is a complex and confusing place in which to live. New issues seem to arise daily and many of the enduring problems we face seem to defy all solutions. While it may not have the answer to which cell phone provider you should choose or when you should refinance your house, the Bible does have much to say about the most important issues of life: how we should order our priorities, the standards by which we should evaluate our relationships, the responsibilities we have for one another and for the world.

Here’s the truth: The Bible is a big book, not that big; but big enough to hold the answers to many of your deepest questions—if you will take the time listen to all that God has to say to you through it.