The Jesus Book

In the 2000 movie Cast Away, Tom Hanks plays Chuck Noland, a FedEx systems engineer who finds himself stranded on an island in the middle of the ocean after a plane crash. Very quickly, his life becomes all about survival.

As FedEx packages from the plane wash up on shore, Noland begins collecting them, and he eventually opens them all except one. The special package is emblazoned with golden wings, and it becomes a symbol of hope for Noland. That unopened, undelivered package gives him a sense of purpose: he has to get off the island in order to deliver it.

When Noland finally does make it back to civilization, he has the package in tow. He eventually delivers it, but since the recipient is not home, we don’t get to see what’s inside. As the story goes, the box’s contents don’t really matter; the package itself was enough to keep Noland going. But of course, the film’s audience has long wondered what was inside.

Several years ago, FedEx had a little fun with one of its commercials, depicting a scene in which Noland (not played by Hanks this time) delivers the package and asks the smiling recipient what’s inside. She replies, “Nothing, really. Just a satellite phone, GPS locator, fishing rod, water purifier, and some seeds.”

Many people treat the Bible like that lost FedEx package. It’s a symbol of hope. They cherish it. They read it. They study it. But they never discover the salvation inside. The Scriptures are not an end in themselves; they were given to us so that we might know Jesus Christ and, in him, find life. From the first words of Genesis to the final words of Revelation, it’s all there to help us find the Son—and the way home. Jesus himself is the key. God did not give you his Word so that you might have yet another homework assignment added to your already busy day. Instead, he breathed the Scriptures into this world and sovereignly placed them into your hands so that you might fall ever deeper in love with Jesus.

Precious Jesus, as I open up my Bible, I also open up my heart to you. Meet with me in this place.