B.I.B.L.E.

Ricky cut me off as I was making my way to the exit. He had a theological question. He informed me he had asked 5 other pastors his question. Not one response had satisfied him. I thought, “This could be tough, I hope can answer him.”

Ricky said, “What does the word Bible mean?”

My mind immediately started to search, bring back memories of sitting in Bible college classes. As I attempted to stir up Greek and Hebrew words in my brain, Ricky seemed impatient. “The letters that make up the word!” B.I.B.L.E.

I smiled—“Basic Instruction Before Leaving Earth.”

His just-won-Jeopardy excitement was contagious. Then he told me the story of how this “truth” was revealed to his dad two years ago in a dream. “We wrote it on a plaque; it’s hanging on the wall.”

Interesting . . .

Basic Instruction Before Leaving Earth, a catchy acronym. But is it true?

Hebrews 4:12 says: “The word of God (the Bible) is living and active, full of power; sharper than any two edged-sword.” For many people the Bible is a gentle butter-knife spreading of God into their life—basic. Yet meant to be more. The same verse tells us the Bible slices into our lives—“It judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.”

Twitching with delight, Ricky continued his story. He asked his dad why God would reveal the B.I.B.L.E.-truth to him. He told Ricky how he had made a decision to become a follower of Jesus, “And yesterday I took the meat cleaver and chopped up all my cigarettes.”

Ricky’s dad got both. The basic: he became a follower of Jesus Christ. And he got the power to make a cutting change in his life. The double edged sword part. Chop, chop.