remember My word...

So, today I was shopping at one of my favorite stores…Goodwill. First I have a couple of observations before I get to the main point. I was shopping at Goodwill “back in the day” before it was considered chic and uber cool. I shopped there because I got it and saw how wasteful people were and wasn’t too prideful to wear “recycled clothes”, I just didn’t tell anyone. Now, everything has changed and I find a whole new crowd perusing the aisles for a bargain. It really does look like some kind of upscale shopping mecca here lately. I actually enjoy just going and looking and listening to the giddy shoppers sizing up the degree of their bargains.

So, on my way to check out I thought I would quickly just scan the book section. You never know what you will find and this day was no exception. I was totally amazed at how many bibles in various translations and conditions I found on the shelves. It just caught my eye at first and then I began to search in earnest. There were at least 20 various bibles available for purchase. Now I have, over the years, discarded many things and have taken them to Goodwill, but I am sure I have never discarded a bible. Maybe it’s just me but the bible is not something I think of casually discarding along with out of style or too small clothes and mismatched china. I do have a number of bibles in my house in various translations and sizes. It just seems like a really weird thing to take to Goodwill. Maybe what bothers me is the totally anonymous manner in which it is discarded. I guess if I was going to get rid of a bible, I would give it to someone or send it to a missionary or anything besides putting it in the “collection box” at my local Goodwill store. It isn’t like I have some unhealthy or unnatural attachment to the bible itself. It’s a book, I get it. I just try to imagine the circumstance or situation where I would throw it out. Perhaps, “wow, this book is really old…” or “I have already read this book a couple of times…” or maybe this one “this book is just taking up space in my life…” People usually get rid of things because they no longer have any value to them. WOW. People usually get rid of things because they are considered clutter. WOW. People usually get rid of things because there is no longer any utility in that thing for them. WOW.I am not really sure if I am reading too much into this or not but I simply cannot imagine casually tossing out a book that has so much significance in my life and the lives of many others. There are actually people right now having to smuggle bibles into places because of the truth contained in that book. Clearly, that truth frees people and those who oppose the bible have a vested interest in keeping people captive to their lies and in bondage. Hello, China and the 10/40 window… As I write this there are people who risk their lives to ensure that this book, casually discarded at Goodwill, gets into the hands of someone standing between hope and hopelessness. I guess that makes it a different kind of book to find a bunch of, at Goodwill, say, than a worn copy of Dr.Zhivago. But, to some of us…maybe not.