lesson learned in the library…

Last weekend I was sitting in the library working on a research paper on the topic grace verses legalism.  I made my way into the commentaries section and grabbed everything I could on the book of Galatians because I knew Paul addressed the churches in Galatia on this very issue.  I brought the stack of books back to my work area and started reading through them.  One of them stood out from the rest for it was yellowed, withered, and the cover was a piece of art.  I stuck my thumb into the middle of the book and opened it up.  The words were like the sweetest poem I’d ever read.  Each syllable rolled off the pages like Lake Michigan’s waves breaking on the shore – slow and steady and without interruption.  I copied down all the quotations I wanted to use in my paper and then flipped to the front to jot down the information for my works cited page.  I was astonished!  The words I was reading were written by thee Martin Luther – monk, priest, and theology professor, most famously known for tacking up his Ninety-Five Theses on the doors of All Saints’ Church in Wittenberg.  I couldn’t believe it!  I carefully took down the information I need, slowly closed the fragile cover, cradled it in my arms as I brought it over to the stack of books I had already gone through, and gently set it down.  I came back to my seat and considered how remarkable it was that I was so fortunate to read the words of a great man who lived 460+ years before me.  Then a tide of conviction swept over me.  Yes, it was cool that I was reading the words of Martin Luther… but I have something even more outstanding than that.  I have the very words of God, the Creator of the universe (and of Martin Luther himself)!  “And these words of the LORD are flawless, like silver refined in a furnace of clay, purified seven times” (Psalm 12:6).  It is so easy to take the Bible for granted.  It sits on our bookshelf with the rest of our textbooks, on our nightstand with the spine unbroken, or in the backseat of our car convenient for Sunday use only.  Don’t be that person!  The pages of the Bible are God’s mission, love, and encouragement for us; they are “a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path” (Psalm 119:105).