HOW ARE THEY READING YOU

by Charles Robey
(Trussville. AL USA)

"show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts." (II Cor. 3:2-3)

This new school library is great! It will not only be the envy of our entire county, but also the state. The new computerized catalog index file alone will greatly enhance the speed of the students' research projects. Along with the well-advertised book sections, I for one surely hope for more 'A's' among these students. What an architectural wonder!

This complete advanced set up will surely make my supervisory overseeing of the librarian much easier. With this in mind, I think I'll just take advantage of this new system and take a little cat nap before I go in to work.

Then it happened. I suddenly found myself in a large library. Books were everywhere, so many more books than I could ever count. What was so unusual were the students. They were hurriedly milling around pulling book after book from the shelves. Wow, were they ever making a mess of this library, I thought. And why the rush?

As I walked around this library, I was approached by a kind lady. Removing her horn-rim reading glasses from off her face, she politely asked, "May I help you sir? I'm the librarian."

"Yes you may. Why all the rush of activity among these students? Why all the commotion? After all, it's just books, books like any other library," I responded.

"You see, sir, somewhere in this library there exists a book unlike all the other books. And it's so treasured among all the others, yet it doesn't look at all like the others," she answered.

"Well then, if it's so special, what does it contain? How will it help the students?" I queried.

This must really be an important book, for the librarian was swift to answer. "Sir, it contains the Scripture which is the eternal, inspired word of God. (II Timothy 3:16) (II Peter 1:20-21)

"Well Ma'am, I'm just a simple Sunday School teacher and no certified theologian, but I can assure you, all one need do is go to the religion section and pick out a Bible, any Bible," I quickly said.

"Not so fast young man. This book may essentially be like all other Bibles, but it possesses some very distinctive, matchless and rare characteristics. You may even call it a walking Bible, per se. You see it was designed, by God Himself, so that it may be read by those who will never study or have ever read the Bible," she explained.

"Wow, can you then give me a hint, as to where I may look? I definitely want to read this unique book!" I exclaimed.

"Yes son, go over to the shelf, pick out a Bible and read (Genesis 1:26-27)."

Are you sure it's in this library?" I asked. To which she answered in the affirmative.

"Then can you just give me one more hint? I begged.

To which she joyfully replied, "It's covered in cloth of blue, brown and white."

I then went through each platform, section by section, and every shelf reading the catalog headings with no luck.

Again I ask, "Are you sure it's in this library?"

And the response was always the same. "Absolutely," this time the librarian responded more optimistically than before.

"OK, I give up." I said. "It's definitely not here in this library."

"But it is here," she said. 'For I'm looking right straight at it now. It's right in front of my eyes," and she looked directly at me. "It's you, you are that book."

"Have you not ever heard of the saying 'You are the only Bible some people will ever read'?", she exclaimed rather joyfully.

"You are the book within which God has written His Word, has given His message of salvation and divine redemption. Yes, your life is the only Bible many people will see or read. They will see you at work, at play and most diefinitely at church." (Jeremiah 31:33)

"It may not be the King James version, or any other translation. But it's your version. Whenever they see His love in your actions and His grace in your demeanor, they will be reading a best seller. Just don't ever lose sight of this precious living Bible."

"Well, what can I say?" I asked.

"Don't worry, God has said it all through your life. Just keep up the pace, for He has already given you His game plan." Please read (Matthew 28:18-20) and (Acts 1:8).

"That I will do. May I just say, you are the best librarian I have ever known. You never once whispered the age old directive of "Please be quiet."

"Can I just give you a big hug. Ma'am?, Ma'am, Ma'am, what has happened to you? Where did you, your library and all the students go, go, go?

Oops! I seem to have awakened. Wow, what a dream! I must not only tell my pastor all about it, but I will surely use this in real life as "Lessons Learned" as a living object lesson in my next Sunday's Bible study.

And from now on, I will most definitely translate the Scripture into my thought process, actions and life. Amen! (Matthew 5:16)

Author's Postscript:

YOU MAY BE THE ONLY BIBLE SOME PEOPLE READ (1 TIM 4:11-5-2)
TAKEN IN PART FROM: (sumasaccchurch.com and dictionary of christianese.com)

Are you the only Bible your neighbor reads, your co-worker reads, or your family reads ? And just maybe your fellow church members read.

Sometimes Christians talk about actually being Bibles. The idea is that people form their impressions of Christianity not just from what Christians say, but also by what Christians do and how Christians treat others.

It’s one of the reasons I’m sometimes reluctant to put a fish symbol on the back of my car. What if I want to go a few miles over the speed limit? What if I don’t always manage to merge gracefully into traffic? People who start seeing a lot of little silver ICTHUS fish tearing around on the highways might start to form a negative impression of all Christians.

So we should never lead by pointing a finger and telling people how to live. We simply lead by going to that place and making a good case

So how you carry yourself as a committed believer in Jesus Christ is as important as what you say. Francis of Assisi said, "It is no use walking anywhere to preach unless our walking is our preaching."

God’s gift to you is far more important, each of you is given a gift from God, exhortation, giving, leadership, mercy, prophecy, service, and teaching is the list from Romans 12. (See also I Cor. 12, Eph. 4)."

You are the only Bible some people will read, you are the only Jesus some people will see. The Lord is calling you to serve him by serving others. Do not hold back because of your reputation with others or because of criticisms of others, but focus on your God-given opportunities and your gifts from God. Everybody has something that could hold them back from fully serving God, those feelings come from the human level, God is calling you to focus on Him, His gifts, His desires, and to serve Him in purity, motivated only by making a difference to others in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.