I thought it must be boring for my dog to eat the same thing every day so this afternoon I bought her a new kind of dog food. It is 50 pounds of Pedigree for adult dogs with roasted chicken, rice and vegetables flavorings. It must smell pretty good because I found her sitting in front of the bag staring and salivating. I broke down and gave her a sample. I’m not sure that was a good idea because now she keeps following me around bumping me with her nose and chomping her jaws.
Eating something new and fresh can be a pleasure not just for dogs but for us bipeds. Reading a new or different translation of Scripture can be just as exciting and pleasurable. Like so many of us I grew up struggling to understand the King James Version. Then I discovered the RSV and then the NIV and then J. B. Phillips paraphrase and the Message paraphrase. It is like eating new food and yet it is the same message. The different vocabulary, the different phrasing gives the old favorite verses new flavor. And I might add they often make some verses easier to understand.
We are so blessed to live in a time when we have not only our own Bible, we can have Bibles. There was a time when Bibles were so rare and so expensive to produce they were chained to the walls of churches for security. They really are the Bread of Life nourishing our souls and enhancing our relationship with our Heavenly Father. When I get a new version I am like my dog. Well, not exactly. Fortunately I don’t salivate on it, but I get very anxious to start feasting on the Word.
Spring Of Life