The Bible The Bood for Life
By A. W. Tozer
THE BIBLE IS UNIQUE AMONG BOOKS, which means simply
that no book has been produced just like it.
The Bible is not a book of history, though it
contains much history, and all it does contain
is authentic. It is not a book of science, though
all its pronouncements upon the facts usually
falling into the category of science are accurate
and trustworthy. It is not a book of biography,
though its biographical sketches are easily the
most inspiring in the world. It is not a book
of philosophy, though it is the sum of all that
is deep and sound philosophy. It is not a book
of astronomy, though its references to the sun
and the stars rate among the loftiest sayings
ever recorded. It is not a book of psychology,
though its knowledge of the workings of the human
mind astonishes the reader and lays bare his soul.
It is not strictly a book of theology, though
it is the source of all the true theology this
fallen world will ever know.
What, then, is the Bible? It is the Book of Life.
“The words that I speak unto you”,
said our Lord, "they are spirit, and they
are life.”
The Bible is a life-bringing and a life-giving
book. It is not primarily concerned with any department
of human thought for its own sake. If the Bible
speaks about the rainbow, it is that we may be
reminded of God's covenant of mercy with mankind.
If it tells the story of Abraham, it does so that
we may learn to know the place of faith in our
relation to God. If it points us to the moon and
the stars, it is that we may know how frail we
are. If it talks about the birds, it is to teach
us to trust our Heavenly Father without fear or
doubting. It tells us about hell not to satisfy
our morbid curiosity, but that we may steer our
feet far from its terrors. It tells us about heaven
that we may be prepared to enter there. It writes
the history of human disgrace that we may learn
the value of divine grace. It warns in order that
it may turn our feet away from the paths that
go down to the path of destruction. It rebukes
in order that we may see our own faults and be
delivered from them.
Volumes could be written in praise of the Holy
Bible without using one word too many. President
Woodrow Wilson once said that the Bible is a book
of such importance that no one unacquainted with
it can be said to be an educated man, and one
who is familiar with it can be said to be uneducated.
Sir Walter Scott, when he was dying, called for
"the book”. A servant inquired which
of his thousands of volumes he meant, and the
great man replied, “The Bible, of course.
For a dying man there can be no other book.”
Even the skeptic, George Bernard Shaw, during
the last years of his life, kept a Bible near
him and never traveled without carrying a copy
along with him.
We should all have several Bibles: a well-bound
reference Bible for study and a large-print, plain-text
Bible for devotional reading. That many at least.
And if we can afford it (and we can if we will
cut down somewhere else), we should have a good
modern translation or two. There are dozens of
them. Their chief value is to stimulate interest
by affording a change of style and to throw sidelights
upon the test of the familiar King James Version.
Money invested in Bibles is money well spent.
Time spent in reading the Bible is not likely
to be time wasted. The Bible is the supreme gift
for friends and loved ones. Words spoken in favor
of the Bible are good words and, if they should
fall upon the right ears, might prove to be “apples
of gold in pictures of silver”.
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