5.1 What is the Bible?

Myself, Jonny, and Sarah work for a youth organization called Scripture Union and it started in Ireland, right here, next to Greystones Harbour in 1896. Although that seems incredibly old, the origin story of Scripture Union is even older. SU is over 150 years old, that's older than the Internet, the car, and the light bulb. Scripture Union now works in over 120 countries, and it all started on this beach in the year 1867, a man called Josiah Spiers had an idea. It was a beautiful day in Wales on a beach filled with families. Josiah was a great storyteller and he wanted to share the story of Jesus with all the young people in a relevant way. He saw that the children were making a garden of pebbles, seaweed, and sand. And so he came up with the idea of getting the children to carve out with pebbles a very simple but powerful Bible verse, 'God is love' (1 John 4:6). The family started to gather around the words carved into the sand and Josiah started to share stories about Jesus. And so this simple yet engaging idea started the Scripture Union movement and ever since that day, Scripture Unions from all over the world have been using creative ways of helping young people and their families to understand the Bible better, and to encourage young people to read it for themselves. There's one particular Bible verse which motivates all the SU movements around the world. It says, 'your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path' (Psalm 119:105). You see, back then obviously there was no electricity, so the same value you place on a simple oil lamp, it's the same value that you would place on your phone. Back then when traveling at night, you would carry a small oil lamp swinging by your feet as this was the only safe way to get anywhere without putting your life in serious danger. We rely on the Bible in that very same way as it is our main source of guidance and our light to live by. The problem is that many young people today are quick to dismiss the Bible. Some people get hung up on the idea that the Bible is just an outdated book of rules that it's totally unreliable or that it's written in such a way that nobody can understand it, but all of this is far from the truth. The Bible has never been easier to read than today. These days, there are many easy-to-read translations that you can access on your phones, and instead of the Bible just being a real book, it's actually one beautiful connected story of God's Love and Action in the world, starting from the beginning of time right up to the events of the first Christians after Jesus' resurrection. And when it comes to its reliability, most of the events in the Bible are backed up in actual history, and there's more evidence of the life and death of Jesus than there is of any other historical figure of that time. One of the best ways to think of the Bible is as its very own library, written in many different styles it comes to us in narratives and dialogues, proverbs and prophecies, and as history. The Bible doesn't shy away from reality, it provides many true stories about the lives of good and ridiculously bad people, about epic journeys and bloody battles but through it all and through thousands of years of events, the main message is actually a person, a person that we can know. The main theme and the main character is Jesus. In the person of Jesus, we see God's forgiveness, his love, and his unending faithfulness. In the person of Jesus, we see God himself. The Bible continues to be the best-selling book of all time. This is because it is the most relatable piece of literature ever written and it gives hope to millions of people today. The Bible emphasizes the triumph and failures of ordinary people like you and me, and its pages offer wisdom and refuge to those in deepest need. There are so many who have truly suffered and they speak of how the Bible brought strength in their darkest hour. And the Bible also speaks about our value as humans, we're not just meaningless robots but we are created by a loving God who welcomes us and gives us purpose in his great story.