I’ve lost count of the number of Bibles I have in both my office at the church and at home. Bibles are easily accessible for me and were I to lose a copy I could quickly pick up another at any number of book stores or online…if that fails I can always use the Bible app on my phone and even access multiple versions at once.
Does our familiarity with scripture and the
ready access to copies of the Bible dull our hunger for the Word of God?
This was the question that bounced around
in my mind as we visited Meserete Kristos College in Debre Zeit (which means
Mount of Olives) on Monday morning. For the past 3 years our congregation at
Listowel Mennonite has had the privilege of supplying each first year student
in the theology program at MK College with a new NIV Study Bible. The College
does all of their theological education in English which opens up opportunities
for outside scholars to come and teach, while also helping students improve
their English skills. However, access to Bibles in the English language has
proven to be a challenge for the College.
Three years ago, Fanosie presented our
congregation with a challenge – would we consider helping him make sure that
the students each get a Bible of their own?
Our congregation responded in an
overwhelming way, and on Monday I had the special blessing of presenting this
year’s class of students with their Bibles!
The joy the students expressed is
impossible to describe in words. A young woman called upon to represent her
classmates, spoke in halting English to express to me that this was the “most
important book in their lives” and they couldn’t thank us enough for this gift.
After presenting the Bibles, I asked if we
might take a group picture so I could show our congregation…I couldn’t have
imagined what happened next!
When we walked out into the corridor to
find a suitable spot for a photo with 65 students, I was swarmed by students
asking me to sign their Bibles! What does one write into “the most important
book” of someone’s life?
I decided to write “Col. 3:12-17” and sign
my name…
After the chaos of those moments subsided
and the students returned to their classroom and the morning lecture, Fanosie
knocked on the door of an adjacent classroom to say hello to another faculty
member (Fanosie was on the faculty at MK College several years ago when he and
his wife Dianne served as Witness Workers with Mennonite Church Canada).
As Fanosie was introduced to the class, I
spotted an NIV Study Bible on one of the student’s desks…curiosity got the
better of me and I asked to see his Bible…
Inside I found the sticker we had placed in
the Bibles we sent last year!
Fanosie then explained to the class that I
was the pastor of the church that supplied these Bibles…and the place erupted
with applause…
If a Mennonite pastor is allowed to be
proud I have to admit that I couldn’t have been more proud of the congregation
at Listowel Mennonite than I was in that moment! What an absolute blessing to
see the joy that the gift of the Word of God is bringing to these students!
To God be the glory!
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