Cover Story

Someone once told me that there are two kinds of people in this world: “coverers” and “users.” While I was growing up, my mother was a “coverer.” There was always a blanket on the sofa, protecting it from getting beaten up by three growing kids and an assortment of dogs and cats.

While growing up, I remember also visiting with some of my aunts and uncles that I didn’t see all that often. They had grown children, so they had some nicer, sportier cars. Riding in their cars in the summer was fun. Getting out … not so much.

In order to protect their car seats and make them last longer, they had plastic wrap all around the seats. I remember thinking after I got out of their car that I needed to reach back in and peel the rest of my legs off the plastic. I wouldn’t be surprised if someone could do a skin graft with the parts of me I left on Uncle Elroy’s plastic seat covers.

I’ve asked my mom, my Uncle Elroy and others about why they insisted on covering their furniture. They all said the same thing: “So it will stay nice.” But I asked, “Well, what good does it do to have a nice sofa (or car seats, or even a sports car) if no one ever gets to see them?” They just smiled. 

Maybe that’s why I prefer to be a “user.” We use our fancy silverware whether we have company over, or it is just the six of us sitting down for supper.

We put out the good hand towels in the bathroom, even if our girls and the neighborhood kids leave more dirt on them than in the sink.

The top of our dining room table is scratched, burned, colored and painted on. But there is a lot of love and memories spent around that old table.

Our furniture, too, is uncovered. That may mean we go through living room furniture a little more often, but at least we get to watch our sofa and love seat disintegrate.

When it comes to God’s Word, we should all be users.

James 1:22 says, “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceiver yourselves. Do what is says.” There is no need to save the treasure of God’s Word for a rainy day, when we can use it every day.

It’s OK to wear out your Bible. Mark it up. Write in it. Highlight it. Carry it with you. Read it when you get up in the morning. Read it before you go to bed at night. Read it to your spouse and children.

The Bible is not meant to look nice sitting on the coffee table when the pastor comes over to visit. It is much nicer looking when it is dog-eared, weathered, and even duck-taped together.

That means it is well used.

This fall there are plenty of opportunities for you to be a user of God’s Word:

Sunday morning Bible studies on “The Families of the Bible.”

Sunday School and Teen Bible Class for your children and teenagers.

Wednesday evening Bible study on the prophet Elijah.

Thursday evening Bible Inquirer’s Class entitled “In the House of the Lord.”

Plus, Sunday morning worship, Wednesday evening worship, devotions on Facebook, email, Meditations, Forward in Christ, etc.

Be a user of God’s Word every day. And it’s funny, because God’s Word is also our cover – in the nicest, non-plastic way. It covers us and protects us from foolishness and sin.

So let’s read it – from cover to cover!