Ten years ago, give or take, as a fresh faced volunteer in the 24-7 Prayer office I killed a quiet afternoon pimping my bible. I printed out my favourite Bible verse (“This is how we know what love is, Jesus laid down his life for us so we should lay down our live for our brothers.” 1 John 3:16) and Googled images that summed up what my faith meant to me as a 18/19 year old Christian. I covered the front of my Bible and adorned the back with a photo of a prayer in a prayer room written by a young person who’d just given their life to Jesus. Throughout the years that colourful but increasingly tatty Bible has travelled three continents with me, spoken truth when I needed it and been a constant companion at my side. It’s funny, I have a greater affection for it that my more useful but cumbersome study bible that stays at home. This little NIV has taught me a lot.
Problem is, people now look
at me like I abuse it. The plastic
that covered my creative outburst now is ripped, tattered and full of sand
(??). People assume I don’t love
the word because my travelled friend looks misused, so today in a very
different 24-7 Office I gave it a facelift. The ever-inspiring Susanna Rychiger arrived at last week’s
Euro meeting with her Bible covered in the words of the vision, which are
really just words from the Bible. So I have followed suite... my Bible is now covered in the words that fill my conversation, ideas that occupy my thoughts. My NIV has a facelift and looks almost
new. Wonder where we’ll go
together and what it will teach me in the next decade J