Dear friends,

Let me start with a question.  If you were shipwrecked on a desert island and could only have with you two books from the Bible (remember it's a library of 66 different books) which two would you choose?  Genesis… Psalms… Isaiah… a Gospel… something by Paul..?  Would you choose something that you had found helpful and inspiring in the past, or would you choose something you didn't know very well, on the grounds that you would have plenty of time to read?! 

Let me continue with another question?  How many of you have a Bible at home and how many of you read it regularly?  (ok, that's two questions, I know!) 

And supposing you were going to encourage someone who had never ever read any of the Bible before to start reading it today, where would you suggest that person start? 

It's difficult, isn't it, because the 66 books of the Bible fall into different categories; there's poetry, narrative, history, prophecy, literary writing… so much in fact.  Where would you start?
When a few of us at Elstead URC were discussing this question recently, someone remarked that whatever book was chosen or suggested, it would have to come with a "guide."  Much of what we read in the Bible makes better sense if someone is there to help us understand it, although, of course, God can and does speak to us directly through his Word.

Thinking about all this, perhaps one of the most important verses in the Bible comes from the opening chapter of John's Gospel, where it says, "and the Word became flesh."  God's word is supremely seen and understood when it becomes flesh.  Jesus demonstrated God's love for us both by his teaching and through his actions.  Jesus demonstrated the message that nothing, not even death, shall separate us from the love of God, by dying in agony on a cross and rising again from the tomb.  His whole life speaks of love, of forgiveness, of life eternal - life in all its fullness.

Today God's word can still become flesh, when God's people - that's you and me - truly demonstrate with their lives the meaning of love and forgiveness towards others.  As Jesus also said, "Go… and do likewise."

Best wishes,