“In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king.”

I have a step-brother. His name is Henry Hawkins. Henry has a father-in-law that is a 90+yr.old, retired fiddle maker/Church of Christ minister. His name is grandpa Lamb. He lives in Delight, AR in a small cabin on the top of a ridge just outside of town. Grandpa Lamb is an inspiring old gentleman. He loves visitors. He loves to entertain. His rocking chair is next to his pot-bellied stove where he sits and sings old gospel songs and tells tall tales. He doesn’t play the fiddle anymore. Says when he does it sounds like he’s dragging a tom-cat across the floor by its’ tail. He’s colorful.

I carried some of my “boys” up to see Grandpa Lamb a couple of years ago. We arrived just after dinner time. Grandpa was so proud to see us. He sat us all down around the stove and wanted to know all about our lives and what we were doing for the Lord and how the Lord was blessing. He told us huntin’ stories. Not old stories, but stories of the deer he had killed this year. He sang a gospel song or two and had us sing along.

Then he pulled out a ragged book and started thumbing through it as if he were looking through a favorite magazine. I asked him what that book was. He said it was his bible. (It wasn’t a kjv, by the way) Said he’d read through that particular copy more than 70 times; cover to cover. Then he leaned forward in his chair, looked me right in the eye and asked how many times I had read through mine.

I was busted. I was completely exposed. I had to confess that, at the time, I had never read The Word from cover to cover. Not even once.

He leaned a little farther forward, extended the book toward me, and said, “Son, ain’t this how you make your livin’? Don’t you think you should know it a little better than that?” That was a little over two years ago. I’ve read through my particular copy three times and I’m 3/4 of the way through my fourth time.

How many times have you read through yours? Isn’t this the Word of God? Isn’t it the Words of Life? “There’s nothing like the written Word of God for showing you the way to salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. Every part of Scripture is God-breathed and useful one way or another – showing us truth, exposing our rebellion, correcting our mistakes, training us to live God’s way. Through the Word we are put together and shaped up for the tasks God has for us.” (IITim. 3.16,17 the msg)

Get a translation you can understand. Look up a reading schedule that you can keep. Get a check list off the internet or from a friend or from your pastor or write me and I’ll give you a copy of mine. You can read it through in a year or two or three. Just read it. Read it all. Don’t skip over it and pickout the stuff you like and leave the tough things behind. You’re probably the kind of person that picks out all the cashews in the mixed nut can. It’s all good for you. It’s all useful. If the Bible really is the Word of God Almighty, the Creator of heaven and earth, Sustainer of the universe, Redeemer, Lover of our souls then don’t you think we should read what he has to say? Or do you think that just meeting with him once in a while is good enough?

There’s a quote at the top of the article; are you wondering how it ties in? We live in a very wicked and spiritually blind society. Knowing a little scripture may make you seem bigger than you really are. Just remember, “In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king.” How many times have you read yours?