“The grass withers, the flowers fade, but the word of our God remains forever.” Isaiah 40:8 CSB
The Bible was written in three languages: Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek. There are approximately 611,000 words. Over 40 authors contributed to it’s writing, which took place over three continents: Asia, Africa and Europe. Jeremiah is the longest book in the Bible, 3 John the shortest. No one knows who wrote the book of Hebrews, there are several books in the Old Testament that the author is unknown. There are 21 dreams recorded in the Bible, and 185 songs. Genesis is believed to be the first book actually written down, somewhere around 1450 B.C., approximately 3400 years ago. Prior to writing down the books of the Bible, they were passed from generation to generation orally. The entire Bible took over 1500 years to write. Between 1946-1956 in Qumran caves north of the Dead Sea, the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered. 981 manuscripts were found in 11 caves, 40% of them were from the Old Testament, confirming its validity. Every book of the Old Testament with the exception of Esther and Nehemiah have partial or complete manuscripts found in these caves. Thank God there wasn’t texting back then, we may not have any of this information.
The digital age is a wonderful time to live in for its convenience. However, there is power in the written word. There is character in the written word. When someone puts pen to paper, they are putting their heart into their words. Taking time to write someone a note, like God did for us through the written word of the Bible, shows love. Writing a note takes time, much more time than it takes to send a text or email. The beauty of writing is the attention it requires. When we write our thoughts down, we have to focus on what we’re going to say. Unlike when we’re in a conversation and words come flying out of our mouths before we have time to think about what we’re actually saying, writing gives you the time to give your words thought. Then we have time to go back over them and ask ourselves questions. Is that really what I’m trying to communicate? How will this be received by the recipient? Once we answer those questions we can edit our words to be more precise in our meaning. And written letters last much longer than a text. Letters can be held, re-read, even hugged. I have cards my Mom sent me over the years, now that she has passed, I can re-read them and for a moment, feel her presence again. Her hand written letters bring me comfort long after she is gone.
Take time to write someone a note today. If you have one, insert a Scatter Card for them to pass onto someone else. Do as God did, write from your heart how much they mean to you, how much you love them, how grateful you are for their presence in your life. My favorite part of writing notes is when I slip it into the mailbox. I always smile, knowing I’m sending someone else a smile in the mail. Let’s send some smiles today!
