OPINION:
The legendary advertising agency, Ogilvy & Mather, conceived of a slogan back in 1975 for an American Express Travelers Cheques campaign:
“Don’t leave home without it.”
Subscribe to have The Washington Times’ Higher Ground delivered to your inbox every Sunday.
The catchy phrase was so effective and popular that the credit card company expanded it and used it into the 1990s. I’ve thought about that slogan as our Bring Your Bible Day celebrates its 10th year this Thursday.
The late Dr. Adrian Rogers, who used to serve on our Board of Directors here at Focus on the Family, liked to say that the Bible was like a pool shallow enough that a little child can come and get a drink without fear of drowning, yet so deep scholars can swim in it and never touch bottom.
It’s this truism that led us exactly 10 years ago to start Bring Your Bible to School Day, a name since shortened but an idea that’s expanded to include bringing your Bible everywhere! This annual celebration is designed to encourage kids and adults to share God’s Word in a winsome and loving way, and to exercise their religious freedoms, whether that be by taking their Bible to school or to work.
SEE ALSO: Jim Daly: Why your vote matters in 2024
Scheduled each year for the first Thursday in October, the outreach started small. Just over 8,000 students participated in the first year. Last year, more than a million students representing all 50 states joined the national movement.
Stories and testimonies have been pouring in about brave and courageous students sharing God’s Good News with classmates and teachers. It’s all legal. It’s neither coercive nor confrontational. In many instances, it’s simply a heartfelt conversation between the curious and the convicted.
Listen to the ReFOCUS with Jim Daly podcast, where Jim digs deep and asks the hard questions to help you share Christ’s grace, truth and love.
This year, we’re looking to expand the outreach. Instead of limiting it to students, we’re encouraging everyone to bring their Bible wherever they plan to go on Thursday. Whether you’re headed to work, out to eat, going to the gym, the doctor’s office, or a series of errands – tuck your Bible under your arm.
The outreach is a recognition that our faith has feet and isn’t limited by four walls. The Bible has a power that draws people into community. It triggers questions. It provides hope. It changes lives.
We hope and pray that millions of people on Thursday will open their Bible, read from it, study it, live it, and then share their faith with others.
“Nobody ever outgrows Scripture; the book widens and deepens with our years,” wrote Charles Spurgeon, the prince of preachers.
A.W. Tozer called it “the shortest route to spiritual perfection.” He encouraged believers to not just cherry-pick passages, to not dip in and out like reading a famous book of quotes. “Nothing less than a whole Bible can make a whole Christian,” he said.
As a former student who struggled on many levels, I’m so grateful for the reliability of God’s Word. As a ministry leader, I’m thankful for the guidance it provides. As a husband, I’ve relied on it to strengthen my commitment to my wife, Jean. As a father, it’s been like a bright light helping me illuminate uncertain trails.
The Bible has comforted me in my loneliness, buoyed me in my sadness, enlightened me in my ignorance, and showed me the way to not only a better life today – but life eternal.
The Bible is timeless. Just consider what many notables have said about God’s Holy Word over the years:
“The Holy Scriptures are our letters from home.” ―Augustine of Hippo
“I believe the Bible is the best gift God has ever given to man. All the good from The Savior of the world is communicated to us through this Book.” ― Abraham Lincoln
“The Bible was not given for our information but for our transformation.” ― D.L. Moody
“A Bible that’s falling apart usually belongs to someone who isn’t.” ― Charles H. Spurgeon
“The reason you don’t like the Bible, you old sinner, is because it knows all about you.” ― Billy Sunday
“The Bible is very easy to understand. But we Christians are a bunch of scheming swindlers. We pretend to be unable to understand it because we know very well that the minute we understand, we are obliged to act accordingly.” ― Soren Kierkegaard
“Within the covers of the Bible are the answers for all the problems men face.” ― Ronald Reagan
Let us never tire of lifting up the truth of the Bible, remembering Paul’s word to Timothy, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17).
–
Jim Daly is president of Focus on the Family and host of its daily radio broadcast, heard by more than 6 million listeners a week on nearly 2,000 radio stations across the U.S. He also hosts the podcast ReFocus with Jim Daly.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.