Is
Your DNA On Your Bible?
The words I have spoken to you are
spirit and they are life.
John 6:63
As I glanced at the woman sitting
beside me I took note of the tattered Bible in her lap. It looked
well-used and old, but cared for. The cover was torn and was in
desperate need of rebinding. I smiled as I watched her thumbs
tenderly caress it, making small circles on the front cover. She
moved her hand just long enough for me to catch a glimpse of the
indentations in the leather; evidently she’d been rubbing it for
some time. Her actions testified to the value she placed on God’s
word. This Bible was special to her.
But what really caught my eye, and what
made the deepest impression, were the edges of the onionskin pages as
the Bible lay closed. Smudged and fingerprinted, the page ends gave
mute testimony to the frequency of use. The once-white pages were
actually darker in contrast than the brown leather cover.
I took a closer look at her hands to
see if dirt might have played a part in soiling these pages. Not
surprised, I saw they were clean hands, with recently polished and
manicured nails. These smudges came from an accumulation of skin oil
over many years. This Bible was her personal love letter from God,
well read and greatly treasured. The last thought I had just as the
service started was I’ll bet you could swab those pages and get
her DNA from them!
†
Bibles don’t accidentally end up in
this condition. It happens on purpose, over an extended period of
time. To have soiled the pages to this extent would require daily
reading over many years.
Jesus, in today’s text, told the
Disciples that His words were spirit and life; something the woman
sitting beside me knew intimately.
God gave us His word, with His DNA, for
nourishment and guidance. Regular nourishment is an option; we can
choose to go hungry.
If we accidentally left our Bible
behind at church, and there was no name in it, could a team of
forensic scientists swab the pages and find our DNA?
Prayer
“Lord, create in me a
hunger to feast on Your word. Reveal Yourself to me in the pages of
my Bible and nourish my soul. In Jesus’ Name, amen.”
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