My Bible, My Friend

Here is my facebook status update from November 28, 2011:

“On June 3, 1983 Michael Frazier gave me a Bible. It came so soon in our dating that I actually spelled his name wrong on the "Presented by" line. (Apparently yearbooks are not excellent sources for checking the spelling of names.) I have recorded the deaths of grandparents and my mom's passing in it. Today, I recorded the marriage of Daniel Frazier to Bethany Gray. It is worn and covered with notes of all kinds. I am thankful for my Bible, and the way it feels in my hands, and the way it feeds my soul and shapes my life.”

I love my Bible.  Except for my New American Standard Inductive Study Bible—which will always feel like a college textbook to me—and the Bible I carried in my wedding, all the Bibles I have personally owned have had red covers.  Probably not significant, but it is true.  But this Bible, my red 1983 NIV, with its frayed spine and peeling cover, is my favorite.  It is marked with pen, pencil, colored pencil and maybe even crayon.  It is stained with tears and coffee.  There are sermon dates and minister’s names scribbled in the margins. Scattered about over the words are symbols and arrows and exclamation points. A few pages are ragged at the edges, and there are sections that look barely worn (sorry, minor prophets).

Often when I think about certain scriptures, I can visualize where they are in this Bible, where the verse falls on the page.  I’m so familiar with this particular Bible that I really don’t want to choose another when it comes time to study or read.   This Bible is my friend. 

Psalm 19:7-8 says, “The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul. The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple.  The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart.  The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes.”

I need all of these things.  I require reviving.  I need wisdom.  I desire joy.  I need my darkened eyes to receive the radiant light that His Word gives.  Don’t you need these things as well? What about your family and neighbors and the students in your choir?  God’s Word is there to bring these things and so much more.

Would you be willing to take a challenge?  Would you be willing to try to instill as much love for God’s Word in your students as you do love of music?  Would you be willing to help them encounter God’s Word in ways that are so meaningful to them that they develop a life-long friendship with their Bible, too?

Encountering God’s Word is life-giving.  It is not boring or stale or just something for grown-ups to do.  What will these “friendship encounters” with God’s Word look like in your classroom?  How can you marry the love and beauty and excitement of music with a love and passion for God’s Word? 

“The ordinances of the Lord…are more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the comb” (Psalm 19:9-10).  Who doesn’t like gold and honey?  Make rich, sweet deposits into the lives of your students—through music and the Word.  It is a powerful combination.

Feasting on golden honey,

Rhonda

(This article originally appeared in Share the Music, a newsletter for Brentwood-Benson Music Publisihing, distributed by the Hal Leonard Corporation.  It was used here with permission.)