Appreciating the Bible
by Joshua Travers - April 3, 2012
Abraham Lincoln said that the Bible was God’s greatest gift to mankind. After comparing it with other ancient literature, like The Epic of Gilgamesh, I appreciate the Bible even more.
Many of us have been raised all of our lives believing in and reading the Bible. We know what it says about various subjects. We know the different stories that it uses as examples of the right and wrong way to do things. We base our lives on its teachings.
Yet do we really understand how great the Bible is? Do we fully realize how much it stands out from the rest of the world’s literature?
I don’t think I yet fully realize how blessed I am to have been raised with the Bible as a guiding point for my life. However, looking at some other ancient literature made me realize more than ever I am blessed to have the Bible.
The other options
In my history class, I recently read The Epic of Gilgamesh. It is a mythical account from ancient Mesopotamia that tells the story of a king named Gilgamesh. As you go through the account, you can hardly believe what you are hearing. Gilgamesh is the hero, and yet he does some deeds that the worst villains would not dream of doing. What Gilgamesh does on a good day, King Ahab—one of the worst kings of Israel—would not think of doing on the very worst day!
In Egypt, there were hundreds of gods who never did anything, and they were served by priests who controlled most of ancient Egypt. These priests came up with the weirdest ideas, such as an immortal soul, the underworld and mummification for the afterlife.
Other ancient civilizations believed in child sacrifice (Deuteronomy 12:31) and war. For many people of the world, this was the best life that they knew. All that their gods and religions gave them was war, violence, immorality and great pain.
The best
The Bible is by far the best book in the world. Man’s attempts at writing and explaining the spirit world are not even close to the glory that is really there. The Bible tells us it was inspired by God Himself (2 Timothy 3:16). This instantly shoots it up to a whole different level than the rest of the literary works and belief systems.
No book has ever come close to the Bible for sheer truth, goodness and effectiveness. As Christ said to God the Father, “Your word is truth” (John 17:17).
The Bible is a tremendous blessing that God has given us in His great and awesome mercy. The more we look at man’s work, the more we can fully appreciate God’s wonderful work.
Joshua Travers is a high school senior who attends the Athens, Ohio, congregation of the Church of God, a Worldwide Association. He enjoys writing and reading.
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