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!
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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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