That Bible in the Drawer

I have been privileged to know many Gideons in my life and I have always been impressed by them and their organisation. I have even been asked several times to join their cause. So far, though, I have limited my involvement to attending their fund raising dinners and that is what we did last night. We sat at a table with three other couples and had a great time of visiting and getting to know some people we had not met before. It was the Gideon's one hundredth birthday and the report, given to a packed house, by the Canadian President, was very interesting and inspiring. There was music for the old folks (very few younger there than us) and some amazing testimonies. There are always stories about how God's Word, randomly discovered through the Gideon bibles, impacts human lives. They are all fascinating stories and makes one realise how powerful the Word is, all on its own.

One fellow in prison said that he would take a Gideon Bible but would roll his tobacco in the pages and smoke it. The Gideon said that he would still give him a Bible in spite of his disdain and disrespect for the Word, but on one condition. He had to read each page before he smoked it. Deal! The hardened convict ended up smoking through the gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and somewhere in John, became a Christian and it changed his life.  

The thing I appreciate about The Gideons is that it is simply about getting Bibles out to people and letting the words and the message transform lives through God's spirit. There is no other agenda, no theological hobby horses, no monetary agenda, just getting the word out. The testimonies speak for themselves as to how powerful a strategy this really is. I have no misgivings about supporting them financially and prayerfully.