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Verse:“Behold, the days are coming,” says the Lord GOD, “That I will send a famine on the land, Not a famine of bread, Nor a thirst for water, But of hearing the words of the LORD.” —Amos 8:11
The Bible is the most loved and the most hated book.
As stated by H. L. Hastings, “The hammers of infidels have been pecking away at this book for ages, but the hammers are worn out, and the anvil still endures.” On the other hand, many people have sacrificed their lives to study and distribute the Bible, as the Waldensians did in the Middle Ages, and as Christians are still doing in some hostile regions of the world today. Love for the Bible was ably demonstrated by a Welsh girl named Mary Jones (1784–1864). She had a strong desire to have a Welsh Bible of her own, but in those days, Bibles were quite rare and expensive.
When she was nine years old, Mary began saving money to buy a copy.
Six years later, in 1800, she walked barefoot the 26 miles (42 kilometers) to Bala, Wales, to see Rev. Thomas Charles, the only individual with Bibles for sale in the area. He sold her three Bibles for the price of one, and her story became the talk of all the churches. There was a great need for low-cost Bibles in Wales.
On December 7, 1802, Rev. Joseph Hughes, inspired by Mary’s story, put a bold question to the Religious Tract Society leaders: “If for Wales, why not for the kingdom? And if for the kingdom, why not for the world?” This question continued to reverberate in the minds of those leaders. And on March 7, 1804, the British and Foreign Bible Society was formed, paving the way for the formation of several other Bible societies around the globe. Today the Bible is available in some six hundred languages and at least one of its books in close to twenty-four hundred more.
Sadly, that doesn’t necessarily mean that the more the Bible becomes available, the more people read it. Never before in history have so many means of distraction taken over the time that should be spent with God’s Word.
It is a tragic reality. Today is a good opportunity to reconsider our priorities so that God and His Word can occupy the highest place in our daily activities.
This would make our lives much better.