The Most Important!
"Bring the cloak that I left with Carpus
at Troas when you come—and the
books, especially the parchments."
2 Timothy 4: 13
If you were exiled to a deserted island, what thing
would you take with you? While something similar
happened to the apostle John (Revelation 1:9)
and
likely to others throughout history, the chance of it
happening to us is nil. It does raise the question:
“What do we value
most?”
The apostle Paul was exiled to a “deserted” place
near the end of his life — the Mamertine Prison in
Rome. A dark and punishing place, Paul seems to
have been confined with little or nothing in
terms of possessions.
When writing to Timothy, he asked his protégé
to bring his cloak to ward off cold in his damp
confines. He asked for something else:
“the books, especially the parchments.”
With the end of his
earthly life in sight
(2 Timothy 4:6-8), he desired his most
cherished possessions: his copies of
God’s Word to comfort and sustain
his spirit.
May we
never take for granted our access
to God’s Word. May it be our daily source
of strength and inspiration.
"The health of our souls requires that
we take the whole Bible as it stands
and let it do its work in us."
A. W. Tozer