Bible - Word of God

What is the book since the era of printing started that has been printed the most, sold, bought and revered the most? It's the Bible. For Christians the Bible is the one thing in their life that is tangible proof of their faith. You can touch it, mark the verses, write your notes. Yeah, its the common thing any self-respecting Christian would say. But what about doubts, questions about the contents, books, authors etc? 


As someone who grew up in a home where I was taught to revere, respect and treat The Book - holy, growing up I just took it as told, as I respected my mother. But then as I grew older, I started thinking objectively, digging deeper, how the different books in the Bible came together, who wrote them, their history etc. And of course I had my questions why only the current 66 books should be considered as the Bible, why not other books? In this age of Google and information explosion and deluge, you can be overwhelmed by the information available. Sifting through all that requires one to be diligent, which would be another post some day!!.


At the same time I was aware of the sufficiency of scripture, and its authority. Today reading a devotional that described Billy Graham's story, the light dawned on me what it is all about. Let me share the Billy Graham story first - 


Taken from the devotional of Pastor Jack Graham

"In his book The Journey, the great Billy Graham writes about coming to a point in his life of reconciling himself to the Scriptures as the complete and authoritative Word of God.
You see, early in his ministry, a friend had challenged Billy to change the way he talked about the Bible. His friend said that Billy's approach was outdated and irrelevant. And for a while, doubts swirled Billy Graham's mind.
Finally one night, sitting alone in a cabin, he thoroughly examined the Scriptures and what the prophets and apostles said about God's Word. And a little later on a walk in the forest, Billy knelt by a tree stump and prayed these words: "Oh, Lord, there are many things in this Book I don't understand. ... But by faith I'm going to accept it as Thy Word! And from this moment on I'm going to trust the Bible as the Word of God!"
From that day forward, when Billy preached, he confidently proclaimed, "The Bible says...!" And that message changed the world!"


I have come to know the attributes of God through the Bible (only by His grace). I now have this wonder, thankfulness and my total insufficiency when I look at Him. That is why through faith (strengthened by the scripture) I rely on Jesus for everything. I connected Billy Graham's experience, to mine. Yes I dont understand all that is in the Bible, but this I understand who God is, and I trust Him, and that He is in control, He reigns. Through the ages if He allowed the books to be 66 working through people, I will trust Him that the Bible is complete and authoritative Word of God. What I was missing is that I was focusing on the book and not on God. It is not about the book, but it is all about God, that is what the Bible is. Praise God for His mercies and His ways to open my heart and eyes.