Fred W. Cropp, past President of the American Bible Society was asked, “What do you recommend for keeping the leather on the back of Bibles from cracking and peeling?” His reply: “There is one oil that is especially good for treatment of leather on Bibles.
In fact, it will ensure your Bible to stay in good condition. It
is not sold but may be found in the palm of the human hand.” Sadly, not nearly
enough Bibles are cracked open these days. Many people simply do not read or
respond to the Bible’s life-changing and soul-saving message. The result?
Un-cracked Bibles lead to a cracked world. America’s (and the world’s) greatest
problems are not technological or material ones. We have put footprints on the
moon and are now aiming to send humans to explore Mars. Medical marvels
continue to astound us. Amazing communication and travel technologies have
shrunk the world and made it a neighborhood. We daily enjoy creature comforts
and use devices and live lifestyles that ancient kings never experienced on
their very best days.
In spite of these and many other truly spectacular achievements,
the immorality, irreverence, vulgarity, violence, and overall moral and
spiritual callousness and coarseness of our culture clearly proclaims that a
footprint on the moon may not be as important as a thumbprint on the Bible. The
Bible reveals God’s love and concern for us, and teaches us to love God
supremely, and very closely behind that to love our neighbor as ourselves (Mark 12:28-31). The
apostle Paul writes that “love does no harm to a neighbor” (Romans 13:10). The harm
he had in mind includes the nasty stuff we read about in the two verses
preceding that directive — not committing adultery, not murdering, not
stealing, not being deceitful and untruthful, and not being stingy and greedy
(Romans 13:8-9). These are the very things that continue to cause cracks in
countless lives, marriages, homes, and communities around the globe. They are
proof that while technology, research, science and education make us smarter,
they cannot make people better.
America’s ongoing moral and spiritual confusion cannot be traced to or blamed on too much Bible reading, preaching and practice. It’s easy to oversimplify, but generally speaking, people who read and hear and then actually heed (that is, put into practice) the Bible’s teaching will be made better. “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves . . . But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing” (James 1:22, 25). Thomas Jefferson didn’t believe everything the Bible says about Jesus Christ, but he was honest enough to admit the Bible’s unique and positive influence in human lives. In the flowery language of his time he wrote, “The studious perusal of the Sacred Volume will make better citizens, better husbands, and better fathers” (quoted by H. I. Hester, The Heart of Hebrew History, p 9). Abraham Lincoln said, “I am profitably engaged in reading the Bible. Take all of this upon reason that you can, and the balance on faith, and you will live and die a better man” (Ibid). The Bible, when put into practice, makes the best people in the here and now and prepares us to be acceptable to God in the hereafter. Here’s a statement worth thinking about: “A Bible that is cracked and coming apart is usually owned by someone who isn’t!” Crack your Bible today!
Dan Gulley, Smithville TN
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