From the Desk of Jeff King

Little black book

God's Word is timeless. Just look at the image above. It is a scanned page from an old book – the Gospel of St. John – that I purchased for one dollar at an antique store. The black cover is faded and its pages are brittle and yellowing. It probably was printed in the early 1900s.

But the words are a living, breathing testament of God's compassion and mercy. The message is just as fresh as the newer Bibles that sit on my bookshelf at home. Look at John's powerful opening statement – In the beginning was the Word, and Word was with God, and the Word was God. The apostle was eyewitness to the greatest act of love the world would ever see – the Creator entering His own creation to save it, wrapping Himself in the flesh of fallen man and offering Himself as a sacrifice to atone for our sins.

This book is so thin it almost gets lost sandwiched between my other Bibles. As I held it in my hands this week and carefully inspected its pages, I wondered who had owned it previously. There are no markings inside, no scribbled study notes, no records of births or deaths. Perhaps this book had given strength to parents sending a son off to war. Or a mother nursing a sick child through the night. Did it ever convict a sinner unto repentance? How many prodigal sons or daughters found their way back home using this gospel as a lamp unto their feet? Maybe a preacher read from it while performing a wedding or dedicating a child. I can picture a widow, struggling with a flood of grief and pain, finding comfort in Yeshua's promise – "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand."

I spotted the book when my wife Alisa, daughters Kirsti and Brianne and I were brousing through an antique shop. It was stacked with several other books on a beautiful mahogany dresser. I asked the owner how much he wanted for the book. The man wanted to give it to me for free but said he needed to charge something, so he suggested a dollar. I was thrilled. Psalm 119:162 says, "I rejoice at Your word as one who finds great treasure." The antique furniture was worth thousands. But to me this little black book was priceless.