Bible Flakes

My Bible has been slowly flaking to pieces. I picked it out a few years ago because of the brown-blue cover and paisley pattern that I was into at the time. However, it didn't take long to see that anytime my fingernail caught the edge of the cover, a little bit of the leather would flake off. The recent Home Assignment year of travel that saw me constantly shoving my Bible into a suitcase and yanking it out again didn't do the poor book any favors. Add to all this the sticky humid weather we have been having, the kind you have to wear shorts in and thus lay your Bible on your bare knees, and you get the following picture: 

Leather lint sticking to my skin and clothes. Some days I find little flecks as I'm already in the middle of teaching, a blue dot on my yellow shirt, informing people that I potentially haven't done laundry in a few days. But then this morning - as I caught yet another big chunk under my fingernail and sighed heavily - I was struck by the realization that it is such a privilege. Not only do I have God's Word at my fingertips whenever I want and in my own personal copy with colors I selected, I get to (even inadvertently) carry it with me into the day.

I read in Acts recently about the birth of the Church at Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit was poured out on believers in visible fire and each person got swept up by the wind and consequently carried God's presence out into the world. According to a summary I watched (linked here), the symbolism should remind us of the times God's presence came near in the Old Testament, notably on Mount Sinai and in both the desert Tabernacle and the Jerusalem Temple. Now that Jesus has paved the way, we are all like mini mobile temples who can carry God's glory and truth and Word out into the world all the time. Tiny flakes of Jesus's body. 

So the next time I find a brown dot on my pants leg, I hope I remember to shine bright and speak truth in love, just as Jesus would do.