It is well known that Lincoln often read the Bible by firelight. Why did he choose to read the Bible? It was perhaps the only book available to him at that time. Even so, we are told that later during his mature years he read the Bible frequently. In fact, he adopted, at several stages of his career, the practice of daily Bible reading.
The Bible, he recognized, vastly enlarged the area of experience on which any individual might depend. As a matter of fact, we are told that Lincoln looked at the entire Biblical account through the eyes of a lawyer, that is, as one who was always eager to investigate testimony to find – truth. Lincoln wrote:
“The written word is the greatest invention of the world. I suggest you take all of this book –the Bible – upon reason that you can, and the balance on faith, (then) you will live and die a happier man, it seems to me “ he also said of the Bible, “that nothing short of Infinite Wisdom could by any possibility have devised and given to man this excellent and perfect moral code. It is suited to men in all the conditions of life, and inculcates all the duties they owe to their Creator, to themselves, and to their fellow men.”
He continued: “ The struggle of today, is not for today, it is for future generations…That the Almighty does make use of human agencies, and directly intervenes in human affairs, is one of the plainest statements of the Bible…When the Almighty wants me to do or not do a particular thing, he finds a way of letting me know it.”
America was important in Lincoln’s eyes because God, he believed, has magnificent work for future generations of Americans to perform, a work significant for the whole world. (* From: Abraham Lincoln, by Elton Trueblood)
As you know, we are a part of the “future generations” Lincoln talked about. Therefore we must take into our hearts the Wisdom of the Bible so we can do a “work significant for the whole world.” My suggestion is for all of us to get into the habit of daily Bible reading, just as Lincoln did during his lifetime. One easy to remember way to do that is to read one short chapter of Proverbs each day. The chapters are numbered 1 to 31, just like the days in most months. So if you miss a day or two, you can simply say to yourself: “Well this is the 11th day of this month, so, I’ll read Proverbs 11 today’’. Do this for a whole year (or more) and you will be amazed at the way your attitude and outlook about each day of your life can be steadily improved.
By: Terry Weber
P.S. I’d like to help you improve your comfort each day. On my website are a number of unique items designed to give you more comfort so go there and see which items you want me to mail to you in the next few days. Website: http://www.originlabyweber.com
