Infinitely Personal

One of my hobbies is collecting rare and old Bibles. I have a 1619 King James, 1599 Geneva Bible, and many others in my collection. It’s amazing to hold and read an old Bible and realize how the Word has been exactly the same throughout the centuries to all kinds of cultures. One day at the office a patient said to me “Dr. Viehman I brought you a Bible. I bought it at a flea market almost thirty years ago. It has been in my closet in a shoebox for many years. I see that you collect old Bibles. Here, please take this as a gift.” He handed me a thick quarto sized Bible with a worn brown cover. “Thank you very much,” I said. What an awesome gift! It was busy that day and I was not able to examine it carefully until lunchtime. I couldn’t wait to see how old it was and what type of Bible he had given me.

Lunch finally arrived. I raced to my office and opened it to the title page. This is what I saw.

I was amazed! I quickly realized this was a Noah Webster Bible, the same Noah Webster who made the first American dictionary that is still in use today, “Webster’s Dictionary.” I knew this Bible was extremely rare in any edition, and then I glanced at the date. It was a first edition from 1833, which is exceeeeedingly rare! Even more incredible it was in mint condition. The pages were flawless. This man had given me an extremely rare first edition Bible in perfect condition! Amazing! And then it hit me. The Holy Spirit moved in my heart and the Father revealed to me that it was no “coincidence.” No. This was a gift from my heavenly Father simply because He loves me. What blew my mind was that He had the man buy and store it for me 30 years ago when I was a reckless teen that had nothing to do with Him. God bought me a gift 30 years ago to give to me today?! Really?!?!

I began to weep as a realized how personal and loving He is. I was convicted to the deepest part of my soul that I usually don’t treat Him and think of Him as He really is. I quickly realized He is loving and personal beyond my wildest comprehension. For God to work at such a detailed level in my life by blessing me with a gift for a hobby is jaw dropping. I am just one person out of billions. I am no one special and God does not have favorites. How much more is He willing to work in things that really matter if He will buy me a present 30 years before I am saved for a hobby! If He is willing to do this for me, then what else am I missing? What is He willing to do for you? Do you want to know and experience Him? Then start living The Abundant Life right now! You don’t want to miss your special moments with your infinitely personal Father.