“Do you have a Pathfinder’s Bible for my son who is a Pathfinder in India?” This was the question that Roc’s mother would ask me at the conclusion of Children’s Church this past Sabbath. She continued to tell me that they were visiting from India, and were headed back the next day. I said hello to Roc and his younger brother who were standing next to their mother. As I focused in on Roc, he appeared to be anxiously awaiting my response. For a brief moment it felt like Deja vu. A few years ago, while in Panama on a Mission trip, a boy about the same age that Roc appeared to be, came up to me with his mother and asked if I had a Bible that I could give him. This boy’s request was also specific: “I want a black Bible because I want it to match my belt.” Two boys from different countries in search of a specific Bible.
Is the Bible still a significant part of our families and home here in America? In a study by the American Bible Society, research shows that the “influence of the all-time best seller is losing ground.” The reason given is that “a growing number of adults are negative or skeptical toward the Bible’s importance in modern life.” The same research shows that the average home in America owns 3.5 Bibles, and that 25% of those that own a Bible have a minimum of six. I was excited to read this, because I can finally tell my husband that he married someone above average.
Although research may show that people are losing interest in the Bible, life shows that the messages of the Bible are still significant in todays world. A living God that offers us unconditional love, hope and salvation is significant in any generation.
Growing up in church, I remember going to Sabbath School and learning the song “Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so.” I never forgot that song, but as I grew up, it seems that at times, I did forget the message of that song.
The Bible tells us in John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” The SDA Commentary, Volume 5 says that “The English word ‘love’ is altogether inadequate to express the depth of solicitous interest expressed by the Greek words agape, ‘love’ and agapao, ‘to love,’ Love is the pre-eminent attribute of the Creator with respect to His creatures. It is the controlling force in divine government. God is love.” Isn’t it amazing how much God loves us? Are you feeling unloved? Remember that we have a living God that loves us unconditionally.
There’s one more thing I’d like to point out to you in John 3:16. The word “believes” in the original language (Greek) is the Present Participle Active, which means that it is an action that continually takes place. This means that John is telling us that we must keep believing in Jesus so that we might live in His presence eternally. Yes, even when life gets tough or when we feel unloved, we keep believing that God loves us so deeply that He gave us Jesus whom we choose to keep believing in continually, in order to obtain eternal life through Him.
There’s also another song that I heard growing up, but certainly not in Sabbath School. This song talks about someone spending a lifetime looking for love in different places and faces, “I was looking for love in all the wrong places,” the song says. I want to suggest to you that only in Jesus will we find true love that is so deep, that it can, and will last an eternity. And until we meet Jesus face to face, may we continue through that same love of Jesus to be His hands and feet, as the Pathfinder Pledge states “I will be a servant of God, I will be a friend to man.”
So, what about Roc and the boy in Panama? Well, I am very happy to report that they both received the specific Bible that they requested. You can capture some of Roc’s joy as he received his Pathfinder Bible from our Pathfinder Director, Darrell, and Assistants Nathan and Othniel.