First Things First

     Before asking a young person to read the Bible, teach him first how to open it, find the book, then the chapter, then the verse. If there's one thing I learned in teaching youth in the campus, it's this. Never assume the students know how to use their Bibles. Most probably, they don't. And we wonder why they don't read, let alone pick up, the Holy Book. Most probably, they are intimidated. Who wouldn't be? It has H-O-L-Y written all over it! Think of it as a new high tech gadget, they need a user's manual before they can use it.

     So teach them I did. They were quite unsure at first, glancing my way as they leafed through the pages of their Bibles, as if asking for affirmation. Finally, they found the verse, reading it aloud, just to make sure they got it right. And I smiled back at them, with a nod of approval. Oh, how their eyes beamed. It was priceless indeed. 

     And I know, it was just the beginning of their long journey to faith.