Significant or symbolic?

I walked by a high school football team practicing yesterday and noticed the oddest thing. They didn’t have a football. The offense just ran their plays, but without a ball to throw or run.

Then I watched a mechanic working on a car. It was weird; he didn’t have a wrench. He used his fingers to tighten the lug nuts.

Then I walked in the front door of my house to find Michelle in the kitchen, cooking dinner. The weird thing was she was trying to mix some ingredients together, but she didn’t have a spoon. She was kind of tilting the pan from side to side, hoping the ingredients would mix together.

OK, so none of these stories are real. But I witness something equally as strange weekly. I see dozens of students coming to Bible class without a Bible. I was especially surprised a few weeks ago when the class I was teaching divided into groups to look at a passage of Scripture. In a class of over two-dozen students, only two students had a Bible.

A football player wouldn’t imagine going to practice without his equipment. A mechanic would never think about working on a car without his tools. Michelle wouldn’t entertain the idea of cooking without utensils.

Paul wrote the following words to the church in Colosse:

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. (Colossians 3:15-17)

Paul encourages the church to “let the word of Christ dwell in you richly.” He reminds each of us about the importance of letting the word of God be a part of who we are.

I am not sure what the reason, but it seems like the number of people bringing their Bible to church has significantly decreased, especially with teenagers.

We set our TiVo so we don’t miss our favorite shows. We carry our cell phones everywhere so we don’t miss a call or text message. We always have our debit card for that purchase we might want to make.

But the Book that contains the words of God and wisdom to make us more Christ-like? Evidently, it is supposed to stay on the bookshelf at home where it’s simply a symbol of the faith we claim.

shine!
Jason