For Our Great Profit

The Bible. An amazing book with a fascinating history. Assembled from writings that span millennia, it surely deserves admiration from aficionados of literature.

Christians, however, know that it is much more than an amazing book. It is a treasure. It is a treasure to us because we believe the Bible is God’s word. Rightly viewed, its value is beyond anything else on this earth. Many Christians have testified to this with their lives. We in the United States are incredibly blessed to live where we can easily have access to a Bible in our native language and that we can read it without fear of serious persecution, imprisonment, or death. We can pick up a copy or open a Bible app whenever we want and enjoy the blessings of God’s word.

Having this treasure available to us allows us to derive great benefits. These benefits are both for eternity and for the here and now. Initially, even before we understood the treasure that we have in God’s word, we profited greatly from the hearing of it. By God’s grace and mercy we were born again by the living and enduring word of God. (1 Peter 1: 23) This alone would be enough to view God’s word as a treasure beyond value, but there is more.

Through God’s word, we learn more about him. I think that’s awesome! God does not just save us and say, “See you in heaven!” He reveals himself through his word so that we may have a relationship with him and see him more clearly. There are great blessings in our relationship with him as he is the Father of mercies and God of all comfort (2 Corinthians 1:3), and seeing him more clearly brings joy to our hearts like nothing else.

Along with this, there’s great profit in the word because it provides a means for us to be equipped for every good work. Paul writes in 2 Timothy chapter 3 that “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16-17) I have seen this to be true many times. The scriptures are mighty powerful. They help instruct us in so many ways. They light the path that we should walk for righteousness. They help us avoid snares or escape snares of bad teachings. Without the scriptures we can be easily led astray. It is my intent to rely heavily on this great treasure in this ministry. I look forward to continuing to profit greatly from God’s word and sharing this treasure with others.