“Right now counts forever.” – R. C. Sproul

When scribes of old copied a biblical text, they saw it as a sacrificial work done out of their love for God. They wrote, often in dim candlelight, on parchment usually, with nibs dipped in ink – letter-by-letter. It was hard work with physical side effects such as poor eyesight and deformed bodies from bending over the text, but they persevered.

At the end of the manuscript, they usually signed their names and often added a comment, the most common of which was this: “Reader take note: While the hand that copied this text rots in the grave, the word of God lives forever.” Hundreds of years later, we’re reading the Bible in part because this monk, whose body is long gone, valued the text enough to commit his life to copying it for future generations.

What are we doing that will outlast us? The eternal things are generally seen in people we influence – our family members, co-workers, neighbors, and even our enemies. And those eternal influences flow out of the Bible and its message to humans.

We may not copy God’s word as the monks did, but maybe we are today’s scribes by living the message of the Bible every day – adding our notes and pointing to God as we do.

God’s word is his revelation of who he is and his desire to relate to humans in forgiveness and love. It’s a message to be cherished and shared. In the busy-ness of everyday, what we do matters – to someone’s eternal salvation, to someone’s deeper walk with God, and then, to all the people they will touch because of their understanding. May something we do today matter 100 years from now!

The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever. – Isaiah 40:8