A Priceless Legacy

As I think back over the Bibles that have been a part of my life, the first one I remember was the pocket New Testament given to my Father by the Gideons.  He carried it with him as he flew combat missions in the Pacific during World War II.  After his death in 1955, it became something I held in my hands often.  Over the years I have accumulated other Bibles which belonged to family members and each is a precious keepsake in its own way.  Reading someone's Bible is like having a window to their soul.

 

To read someone's  Bible is to realize that what is being held in the present moment was held in the hands of another sometime in the past.  The awareness that it provided comfort, direction, and strength to someone important to us makes it all the more precious.  To come across words and lines underlined by someone from our past gives us ample reason to pause and wonder how the words might have provided help and nurture for them.  To hold an old Bible in our hands is to know that we are holding an important part of a life we remember, love, and hold in an important place in our heart.

 

There are many things folks leave to others upon their death.  Some of the things are marked long before the moment of giving comes.  So often as we think of the special things we want our children to have at our death, we seldom think about the Bible we have read through the years.  The truth is the legacy of the Word is priceless.  It is life giving.  If we are remembered by those we love as one whose life was established and guided upon the pages of the Sacred Word, then we are indeed well remembered.