Real People

By Our Daily Bread

Read: Psalm 78:1-8

All these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition. —1 Corinthians 10:11

Author Ronald Rood visited a class of second-graders and gave a slide presentation of a Hawaiian volcano. The pictures showed molten lava pouring into the sea and steam rising a mile into the air. The scene was so graphic that the children could almost hear the roar. Rood then passed around a piece of lava for the youngsters to examine. After it was handled by two dozen hands, one little boy brought the rock back to the front. Carefully cradling it in his hand, he exclaimed with wide eyes, “Mr. Rood, it’s still warm!”

That’s the power of imagination! If only the biblical accounts of God’s people would come alive like that to us. The reality expressed in the stories of the Bible needs to take hold of us. Moses, for instance, knew what it was like to feel insecure. The people he led out of Egypt cried hot, salty tears that left streaks on their windblown faces. Their hearts pounded when they were scared. Their heads hurt when they were tired and hungry. The vessels in their necks bulged when they were angry. Their eyes watered when they laughed.

The people of the Bible were real. Let’s ask God to make their experiences come alive to us, so we can learn from their examples (1 Corinthians 10:11).  —MRD II

The stories in the Word of God
Are there for us to see
How God has worked in people's lives
Throughout all history. —Sper

People from the past can give us pointers for the present.