Read
Now there are also many other things that Jesus did. Were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.
John 21:25
Reflect
James Smithson lived a very interesting life. He was born illegitimate in secret in France, but grew up in England. He was in France during the French Revolution, was imprisoned by both sides during the Napoleonic Wars and was a prominent chemist who published 27 papers during his lifetime.
But that’s not what how you know him.
When James Smithson died, he left his entire estate — a little more than $500,000 (worth about $14 million today) — to his nephew with the condition that if his nephew died without heirs, the fortune would donated to the United States government to establish an educational institution. Six years later, his nephew did, indeed, die without heirs, and the fortune went to the United States.
That’s how the Smithsonian Institution was created, and it celebrates its 175th birthday today. (Ironically, the Louvre museum in France was founded on the same date in 1793.) If you’ve never been to the Smithsonian, you really should go. I could spend days in the Smithsonian looking at exhibits of art, science, history and culture. It’s truly a wonder, and I’m sure Mr. Smithson would be very pleased with what his bequest created.
And yet it pales in comparison with something that almost everyone has, but so few people read. The Bible is the best-selling book of all time, and most families have at least one copy in their home. (And everyone has access to countless online versions.) The true wonders of the Bible are missed by so many people. It contains boundless wisdom and knowledge, and it doesn’t even contain all that it could have contained. At the close of his Gospel, John wrote about many of the miracles Jesus performed but that, “Now there are also many other things that Jesus did. Were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.”
People will stand in line to look at classic paintings, sets from famous TV shows or historical exhibits of American spacecraft. And yet they won’t spend even a few minutes reading the best book ever written — a book that would change their life and provide them solutions to life’s problems. Don’t make that mistake today. The Lord has given you life’s instruction manual. Make sure you spend at least a little time reading it and then applying it to your daily life.
Reflection copyright © 2022 Doug DeBolt.
Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
