"All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness ..." (v. 16)

For Reading and Meditation:     2 Timothy 3:10-17

The next aspect of Christian uniqueness we consider is the Holy Scriptures, which we call the Bible. Nearly every brand of religion is based on a book. Whether ancient or modern, mystical or historical, ceremonial or ethical, it is almost certain to follow the teaching of some allegedly sacred volume. The Hindus have their Vedas, the Muslims the Qur'an, and the Parsis their Zend Avesta. The Sikhs of India treat their sacred book, the Guru Granth Sahib, as though it were a person. They fan it in hot weather, offer it food, and put it to sleep under mosquito nets. Western religions have their books too, such as the Book of Mormon, Science and Health, and so on. Christianity too is based on a book, a holy book called the Bible. But the Bible is unique. Like the One about whom it speaks, it is in a category all by itself. It is unique because of its Author. Most people would agree that the most important thing about any book is not its title, its topic, its binding, its lettering, or its layout - but how well it is written, in other words its author. In reading and studying Holy Writ, that is the primary and pivotal question: Whose book is it? To that inquiry the Bible itself supplies the answer, as we see from our text today. God is its Author. With other books you have to understand the book in order to know the author. With the Bible you have to know the Author in order to understand the book.

My Father and my God, what new light streams forth from the pages of the Bible since I have come to know You, the Author. The more I love You the more I love Your book, and the more I love Your book the more I love You. Blessed be Your Name forever. Amen.