Day 1

SCRIPTURE

Trees are some of the most incredible plants on the Earth. Even just calling a tree a plant is already strange. When you think of a tree, you probably are not thinking about a plant -- instead, you are most likely thinking of the massive, immovable, and lush wooden formation that is its exterior. Trees are certainly sights to behold, but the real wonder lies past the bark. If you were to slice through a tree, you would see these special circles.  These circles are commonly known as the rings of the tree. Many people who know about the rings of a tree know that they typically display how old the tree is, but there is so much more to see than just the tree’s age. You can tell from these rings if there have been seasons of drought or good weather. You can see if there has been pressure on the tree’s trunk at some point. You can even see scars from a previous fire. The proof of the tree’s existence is within its trunk. In this sense, we can see a lot of similarities between trees and the Bible. We may struggle with the Bible when we hear people talk about it. Some say it is outdated. Some say it contradicts itself. But rarely do we sit down and try to read it for ourselves to see the proof of its life. Even more so, rarely do we take time to see the evidence of its capability to work in our lives.

The Bible is a collection of 66 books divided into two sections: the Old Testament and New Testament. There were 40 authors, and it was written in three languages. The Bible has some amazing literature in it. There are plenty of poems and beautiful stories, but most of all, it is one story: the Story of God bringing us back into a relationship with Himself.

The connection between the Old Testament and the New Testament is incredible. Many prophets in the Old Testament told of the things to come -- namely, Jesus, and the work of God through Him. Reading the Bible will directly prove itself and its uniqueness when we see things that were prophesied then come to fruition many books later.

Scripture, or sacred writing, is… are you ready… the most reliable piece of literature in existence. Crazy, right? Ancient writings were copied by scribes and called manuscripts. The New Testament alone has over 5,700 manuscripts. This amount of evidence surpasses any other historical work of literature. The earliest manuscript we have found is of the Gospel account of John. Historians estimate that John wrote his Gospel account between A.D. 40 to 100. The earliest manuscript that has been discovered is dated at A.D. 130. That is insane compared to all the other ancient writings. For example: Caesar’s Gallic War happened between 58-50 B.C. The earliest manuscript of this historical event is A.D. 900.

Still, Scripture is more than a historical piece or cool collection of stories. Scripture is God’s breath on a page. While there were 40 authors, the authors were set apart and inspired by the Holy Spirit. We see the heart of God in the words of the Bible. We learn not only what He has done for us, but we also learn who He is and who we are in Him. When we read His words, we gain a deeper understanding of His story and the role we get to play in it. Our purpose and our hope lies within these pages.

We find a tree’s life and story in its inner trunk. In the same way, we find God’s story and our story united in the Bible. We can hold the word of God in our hands with full confidence that it is historically relevant and valid. The proof of the Bible is found both outside of and within its pages. We can read Scripture with joy, knowing that it is all about God coming after us in love. It guides us and provides for us clarity and truth. We get the chance to see one beautiful story of redemption within the pages of the Bible -- the story of God coming after His broken people.