"Straight From the Horse's Mouth"

“Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.” (John 15:15)

You have surely played the old game, sometimes called “Gossip,” in which someone at one end of a group of people whispers something to the person next to him or her, and so forth, until the message reaches the last person. Then that individual repeats audibly what he or she heard, and invariably, everyone is amazed at how far removed it is from what was originally said. Jesus is recorded as saying in this verse in John that the Father had told Him things that He, in turn, told His disciples. We know that Jesus “heard” exactly what His Father said, and He goes on to promise that “all things” that He heard, He passed on to us. Why would we think that God would be so careful and exact when passing on His Words to us, if they were only going to become garbled or diluted later?

Of course, we know from such verses as 2 Peter 1:21 that the human authors of the Bible were simply transcribing the Words of God, and as far as what became of them after that, my question at the end of the last paragraph still stands. I say this to remind us again of a favorite theme of mine. Everything in life that is necessary to know can be found in the supernatural Book that lies inconspicuously and often overlooked on a shelf or table in our homes. All true knowledge found in any other book is simply “a variation on a theme.” God had the original thought. And by that I do not just mean the original thought on every subject; I mean the original thought. To acquire knowledge from other sources and other people is to obtain it second-hand. This may be acceptable in some cases, I suppose, but surely could not be seen as the purest form of research.

Besides, the Bible is not only a source of fact; it is a love letter from God, as well. (When was the last time you got that from a good book?) The all-knowing God of the universe is the all-loving Savior of our souls. Treasure His Book as you treasure your life, for He is your life, and He has made Himself known to us primarily through His Word.

Those who know me, will realize, I am sure, that my choice of a title for these thoughts of mine is in no way meant to be light or irreverent. I simply seek to establish what I believe to be a direct line of information from God to us. To make the point, if I may, that the Message from God that came down to us in the beginning, though it may be in a different language, is as pure today as it was when it came from the mind of God. If He cannot preserve His Word, can He reasonably be expected to keep our souls?