A large national corporation spent a great amount of time and money distributing a monthly company newsletter to its employees. The president began to wonder if his employees were reading the words of advice that were being sent to his people. In order to determine this, one month he inserted a paragraph toward the end of the letter offering them a cash reward if they would initial that particular paragraph and mail the letter back to him. Although thousands of newsletters were mailed, only 25 employees returned the letter and received the cash bonus.
He next decided to include the pay checks in the same envelope with the newsletter. The phone lines to corporate headquarters were jammed by anxious employees calling to say they had failed to receive their paychecks. When they were told that the check was in the envelope with the newsletter, there was dead silence on the other end as workers began to wrack their brains trying to remember into which trash can they had tossed the envelope.
Our Father has also put into our hands His letter which is “able to make us wise unto salvation.” Unfortunately, many pay no more attention to His “words of life” than did the employees of this giant corporation to their company newsletter.
If we truly believe that all scripture is given by the inspiration of God, how can we ignore it? We do so at our own peril.
Solomon tells us that it is no use praying if we do not bother to read our Bibles. He put it this way. “If one turns away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer is an abomination.”
The corporate president was disappointed that his employees would not take the time to read his newsletter. Is our Heavenly Father not also grieved when we turn away our ears from hearing His message to us?
God caused His servants to write the Bible to teach us His way. “Whatsoever things that were written aforetime were written for our learning that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.”
Ignorance is not bliss. Paul writes to the Thessalonians telling them that the Lord Jesus is coming “in flaming fire to take vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
How can we know God? Where can we find the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, so we can obey it? How can we develop faith? Paul supplies the answer when he tells the Romans that “faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God.”
Jesus said, “If ye love me, keep my commandments.” Without our Bible, we can neither love him nor keep his commandments. Love comes by knowing. We cannot love the unknown. Were it not for our Bibles, we would not be able to know and love our Heavenly Father and His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.
The employees wanted their paychecks but they did not bother to open the newsletter which also included their pay. Our reward is linked to God’s letter, for Moses said, “Set your hearts unto all the words which I testify among you this day, which ye shall command your children to observe to do, all the words of this law. For it is not a vain thing for you; because it is your life.”
Truly our Bible is God’s love letter to us to “make us wise unto salvation.” Let us then declare with David, “0 how love I thy law! it is my meditation all the day.”
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One