Read the Bible, it’s really God speaking
Kevin Omoro Etemesi reads the bible during a church sermon by the dumpsite for street families at the Kisumu dumpsite who have come together and formed a spiritual unit amongst themselves on September 21, 2014. PHOTO | FILE | TOM OTIENO
What you need to know:
- “Pick it up and read it!” The only book in the prison cell was the Bible. Until then, he had no desire to open those pages. For some reason, he suddenly felt like it was the only thing in the world he wanted to do.
- The moment of Augustine’s conversion, he describes at length in his “Confessions”. He picked up the Bible and opened to the text that says: “Put on the Lord Jesus!”
“The word of God is something alive and active. It cuts deeper than any two-edged sword: it can seek out the place where soul is divided from spirit, or joints from marrow; it can pass judgement on secret thoughts and emotions.” This passage from the Letter to the Hebrews speaks to us of the power that God’s word has to draw us closer to him. It is not a power working from outside. It works within us, like a sword piercing our hearts.
Years ago I got to know a man who spent 20 years in prison for murder. His cellmate had turned to Christ and used to read the Bible every day. But this man wasn’t interested in anything to do with God. He was angry and filled with hatred. He cursed everyone and everything.
Suddenly, one day, he heard a voice: “Pick it up and read it!” The only book in the prison cell was the Bible. Until then, he had no desire to open those pages. For some reason, he suddenly felt like it was the only thing in the world he wanted to do. So he picked up the Bible and started reading.
I can still remember the way that man described the change which took place. There he was – a murderer – sitting in a prison cell reading the Bible. For the first time in his life, he knew that God cared for him and loved him.
He repented and asked Jesus to forgive him. He told me – it is perhaps hard to believe, but he insisted – that, as he was reading God’s holy Word, fire appeared and covered him. He said that it burned his ears especially. From that moment on, he feels pain every time someone curses or speaks against God. He gave up cursing himself and now speaks only words of peace and forgiveness.
Do not be surprised that such things happen. Remember Saint Augustine, that great bishop who spent day and night preaching the Word of God to the people of Africa in the early Church? He, too, lived a pagan life for many years until one day, sitting in a garden, he heard a child chanting: “Take and read!” That was the moment of Augustine’s conversion, which he describes at length in his “Confessions”. He picked up the Bible and opened to the text that says: “Put on the Lord Jesus!”
One wise man of our times said, “You are no different from Augustine. Everyone eventually feels hunger for God because the things of this world cannot fill our hearts. The child’s voice that Augustine heard is addressed to you. Take and read! It tells you where to find the food that will satisfy your hunger. Pick up the Bible and read it!”
