On May 14, 1989 my two, then, teen-age daughters gave me an NAS monogrammed black Bible for Mother’s Day, that I have loved and protected, as a dear friend for over thirty years. It carries within its once blank pages a wealth of notes as God spoke to my heart and taught me life-long lessons. I am a prolific note-taker and this Bible is packed with names, stars, highlighting, hearts and steps of action searing its pages. I read the Bible through each year so you can imagine what it looks like!
Four men arrived carrying a paralyzed man on a mat. They couldn’t bring him to Jesus because of the crowd, so they dug a hole through the roof above his head. Then they lowered the man on his mat, right down in front of Jesus. (Mark 2:3-4) The note I have in the margin…” Who will you carry, Jackie?” A simple reminder of a given responsibility.
J.B. Philips (my favorite Bible that carried me through college) wrote, “The danger to professing Christians lies not in more glaring and grosser temptations and sins, but in a slow deterioration of vision, a slow death to daring courage and willingness to adventure with God.” If I have lost sight of my responsibility…. I have a definable loss of vision…and the notes go on…calling me into accountability.
Whether you are single woman, a mom or grandmother, we each carry responsibility for the short life we live here. Life is simple…a stewardship, not an ownership; a trust and not a gift. With a gift you can do as you please, but with a trust…you must give an account. (Eph. 2:10)
As I slowly bend the pages of this war-torn Bible, I am reminded of the privilege we have been given to yield to HIS purpose and will in this life and how HE has given us everything we need to live a life that pleases HIM. (II Peter 1:2-3) No excuses for loss of vision or misuse of HIS gift. His Word is the path through this maize called life. The other choice…chaos and loss.
What is your choice?
“…every mouth will be silenced and the whole world
held accountable to God.” Romans 3: 19 NIV
~Jackie Johnson - I am a former tribal missionary to the Kuna Indians on the Colombian border in Central America. Fluent in several languages, my husband and I currently pastor a Spanish-speaking church in Southern California. My passion is mentoring and equipping dedicated young women for life, marriage, motherhood, and beyond. I am the mother of two daughters and the grandmother of three Princesses and four young Knights.
