Bibles and Bible Apps || Your Legacy

The Wal-Mart check out line was long. Very long. So as I waited, I took out my cell phone and pulled up my Bible app. And I read a bit.

I love that I am able to do that.

That's the new thing these days. The smart Bible; the Bible on your tablet or iPhone. And I for one enjoy having the Bible on me 24/7. If I need to look up a Scripture, I take it out of my pocket. If I want to wash dishes and listen, I turn it on. If I'm watching my little boy play outside, I can touch and read while I sit. It's great and I am very thankful that it is available to us! But I love my real Bible. My open-it-up-and-flip-through-the-pages Bible. And though my Bible app is very cool, my real Bible is something much more than cool.

My Dad's Bible is one of my most favorite things to look at. Truly. He has had the same Bible for over 30 years. He has preached from it and has taken it with him everywhere - on many overseas trips. I love looking at the faded pages, the highlighted verses, the markings on the sides, the sermon notes scattered everywhere. I love it. It's a treasure. It's a legacy.

My Bible isn't as used as my Dad's 30+-year-old one, but it is special to me. Inside the front cover, I have a picture of myself and my husband, a picture of our two children, a picture of my grandfather, and two quotes that bless me every time I read them. I have dozens of verses highlighted and I have little notes scattered here and there when a certain passage speaks to me in that moment.

Oddly enough, I like secondhand books. I have several devotionals in my possession that once belonged to someone I've never met. And I love seeing their thoughts and prayers written in the corners of those devotionals. In my own books, I like to highlight and scribble and make markings on the pages of a book that has woven its way into my heart. This story encouraged me. This quote inspired me. This chapter convicted me. If I don't mark it down, I will most likely forget the moment. In the Bible, the Israelites would build an alter where God did a work. My Bible's scribbles are my alters. They are special places in my spiritual walk with the Lord. And that's something that cannot be done on a Bible app. Now, I love the convenience of the all the different study tools available at the touch of a finger, but not for one moment do I want convenience to take the place of my leather bound Bible.

We live in a very technological age. Everything is convenient and quick. We don't write old fashioned letters anymore, we e-mail or Facebook. We rarely journal. We blog. We buy our books via Kindle. Don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with technology. But sometimes I think we miss the beauty and power of holding a Bible in our hands, having it in our bags, and carrying it with us wherever we do. Like we carry our phones. Though God's Word is the same and just as powerful whether you are turning pages or touching screens, there's just something about holding a real Bible.

To me, anyway.

Just like my Dad's old Bible is beautiful in my eyes, I deeply desire my children to look at my Bible - not my iPhone - as a beautiful treasure one day. I pray that they can see places where I have knelt before God and surrendered to His will or where I have praised Him for being faithful and worthy. I pray as they turn the pages, they see a passionate, intimate love for Christ that makes them want to fall in love with His written word too.

That's what it's all about anyway. Loving Jesus and leaving a legacy for your children.