I’m delighted to introduce you to Dawn Wilson. Besides sharing similar names, Dawn is a spiritual sister and fellow member of AWSA. While I’m away spending time with extended family, I know you will enjoy her creative piece today. Now here is Dawn…

Graphic adapted, courtesy of Pixabay.

Like most American Christians,

I have a number of Bibles on my shelves, desk, coffee table and nightstand. Some are for reading, and some are for heavy-duty study. There are older translations and newer paraphrased versions. They come in all sizes and colors!

Last week I ran across a Bible I’d forgotten. It was a small black copy in the back of an open bookcase, lying horizontally on a set of commentaries I haven’t used in three years. Other than the thick layer of dust on its cover, the Bible looked almost new.

It reminded me of an article I wrote many years ago about a lonely, leather-bound book—“speaking” from its own perspective.

That Bible sighed, remembering happier days when its owner spent hours reading and focusing on God’s words. But now it was neglected, lonely and covered with dust.

It lamented that once its owner craved scripture more than food (Matthew 4:4; Psalm 119:103), but now she was too busy and craving lesser things.

The owner only pulled this neglected book out when visitors from church stopped by. There it sat on her coffee table, freshly dusted, like it belonged there all the time.

“I’m just good ‘for looks,’ I guess,” the Bible said with a sigh, “not for practical, everyday use.”

The dusty book explained how the owner occasionally shoved it in her suitcase for a trip, but it just took up space, never seeing the light of day. And sometimes it struggled to breathe, forgotten, under a pile of magazines. Somehow the owner never got to the bottom of the pile to retrieve and enjoy the holy book.

The lonely Bible fully expected it would be replaced by a snazzier new model in time, but it wondered why, since it never really got used.

It sighed again, remembering the good old days when it was “alive and powerful” in the owner’s life—“a real eye-opener, motivator, wise counselor and friend” that brought her peace and joy and refreshed her faith (Psalm 119:18, 130; John 5:39-40).

My article closed with the lonely Bible calling out, “Hey, I’m over here—over here!”

I gazed at the little Bible I’d found in the bookcase last week, knowing it wasn’t my “regular” Bible, the marked-up version I “chew” on (Jeremiah 15:16), allowing the Spirit of God to nourish and refresh me for life and ministry. It was an extra.

And then it hit me. For all practical purposes, this was a useless Bible. It was useless because no one was using it, not because it didn’t contain precious promises and timeless truth!

So I found a few others and set them in a special place, determined they would be repurposed in someone else’s home so a new owner could find fresh faith too.

I’ve discovered—

But if they have NO Bible, they may not have true faith at all (Romans 10:17).

We tend to think everyone has a copy, but nothing could be further from the truth. Some cannot afford a copy of the scriptures. Imagine not having a Bible!

I read this week about a ministry called Bible Senders. They collect new and gently-used Bibles and put them back to work all over the world, offering them to people free of charge. That might be one option. Or I could simply ask God to lead me to someone in my neighborhood who needs a copy of His Word.

Do you have a lonely, leather-bound (or paperback) Bible? It doesn’t have to be lonely anymore.

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Dawn Wilson and her husband Bob live in Southern California. They have two married sons and three granddaughters. Dawn assists Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth with research and works with various departments at Revive Our Hearts. She is the founder and director of Heart Choices Today, and also publishes LOL with God and Upgrade with Dawn. Dawn also travels with her husband in ministry with the International School Project.

Linking with: #Word of God Speak

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