Over the years, I've accumulated a lot of Bibles in various versions and translations. Most I've purchased. Others were given to me by my publishers. One I got because I wrote a devotional for it (The Grandmother's Bible, NIV). When I downsized my home a couple of years ago, I gave away about 15 Bibles to a women's prison ministry. And still I have a large collection (the photo at left isn't even half of them).
Is it a sin to own too many Bibles?
I enjoy reading different versions like the New Living Translation, the Message, and the Amplified, but I always find my way back to my favorite (see photo of the open Bible). It's an NASB. The one in the photo wasn't my first Bible as a Christian, but it's the one I've owned through some of my best "growing in the Lord years." It's not only highlighted and underlined, it's filled with notes and dates and snippets of sermons and messages the Lord gave to me as I spent time with Him. And every time I read it, I see those "signposts" that mark where I've been and what God has taught me in the journey. The memories are precious and oh-so-meaningful to me. When I read a different Bible, I miss those memories, those signposts. I think I'll still be reaching for this Bible twenty years from now, should the Lord tarry. Either that or I'll have to transfer all of my notes to another Bible, and I'm not sure I have that many spare hours available to me.
How about you? Do you have a favorite, aging Bible that you return to again and again, one that shows the path you've walked through life with the Lord to guide you?
In the grip of His grace,
Robin
