Think on These Things: Positive thoughts in a negative world…
The Bible is God’s Word. I’m not sure we really understand what a blessing it is to have God’s Word readily available to read. We don’t have to wait for Moses to come down from a mountain with a tablet of stone to hear what God has to say. We don’t have to wait for Paul’s next parchment epistle to arrive via messenger. We have access to God, His thoughts, and His example at our fingertips. I wonder if we really appreciate what a privilege that is.
In biblical times, the average person did not have access to a Bible. Only the religious leaders had a copy of the Bible and probably not in total. That’s why public reading of Scripture was important. Paul refers to this in Timothy 4:13 when he says, “Till I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, and to doctrine.”
In those days, people weren’t just grabbing their Bibles and heading over to Joe’s house for an impromptu Bible study. Many at that time were illiterate. When the Bereans were commended for searching Scriptures daily, they were making an effort to get together with someone who could read and had access to portions of the Bible (Acts 17:11). Reading or studying the Bible was a shared activity with people supporting and encouraging one another.
Once the Bible was canonized, emperors like Constantine sanctioned that Scriptures could be copied by hand by scribes. Canonization is just a fancy way of saying the community of churches or God’s people all got together and, through much prayer and discussion, decided which biblical writings were divinely inspired and authoritative.
Copying these Scriptures was a huge, laborious undertaking. Each word had to be carefully formed in ink with no room for error since there was no “wite-out” or “correct-o-type” available. During the Middle Ages, around 600 to 1400 AD, several thousand monasteries were established across Europe to copy the Bible. Teams of scribes and artists produced magnificent parchments filled with beautiful artwork. Most people in the Middle Ages were illiterate, so these pictures, designs, and illustrations were very popular. These Bibles were huge and expensive—not available to the common man—so they would be put on display at some churches, monasteries, and universities.
However, after the printing press came along in the 1400s, the floodgates opened and information became available to ordinary, everyday people. The printing press was actually the Internet of its time. Eventually literacy and access to books became widespread. The Bible became accessible to the average person—people like you and me.
When John introduces us to Jesus in the New Testament, he refers to Him as the Word. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1-4, 14). How appropriate for Jesus to be called the Word, for Jesus is indeed the Living Word of God. Jesus tells us that if we abide in His Word, we are truly His disciples (John 8:31). This has a two-fold meaning because not only are we to abide in God’s Word, we are to abide in Jesus.
God’s Word is vital to our Christian journey. It reminds us of who Christ is, what He has done for us, what He continues to do for us, who we are in Christ, and how we should live our lives. What a privilege it is to have the Bible, God’s very Word, at our fingertips!
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“Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.” ~Philippians 4:8 (KJV)
