Wise Words With...

Beyond the Price Tag: The Living Word in a Symphony of Stories

We recently had Book week at the school, celebrating books and how we as readers get to be a part of the ‘Symphony of Stories’. But what’s a book worth? $15 or $20 for a popular paperback, maybe $40 for a new release, even a hundred dollars or more for a quality premium hardcover book. 

Did you know that the highest price ever paid for a book (so far!) was US $38 million in 2023 for the Codex Sassoon, a Hebrew Bible manuscript dating from the 9th century. It was purchased as a gift for the ANU Museum of the Jewish People in Tel Aviv, Israel. Despite having so many copies of Old Testament individual books for Bible scholars to view and study, including the ancient Dead Sea Scrolls (dating back to the 3rd century BC), Codex Sassoon is valued for its completeness (92%) and its role as the earliest most comprehensive Old Testament available.

However the value of the book is far more than what it’s worth as an artifact for collecting, study and research; its true value is in the words written on each page and what they reveal about God. Paul, writing to Timothy in 2 Timothy 3:16, said that Scripture (the Bible) is ‘God breathed’, telling us that just as we breathe out our words when we speak, so God breathed out His words when He revealed the Scriptures

At Nowra Christian School we don’t just study Christianity, with its traditions, denominations and history, but we study the Bible and want our students to see it as we do; that is, God’s Word to us. In fact, we name our Secondary program ‘Biblical Studies’ because we believe in the power of God’s Word to transform and change lives believing, as it is said in Hebrews 4:12, that ‘the word of God is living and active, sharper than any double-edged sword.’ It is this Word in particular that reveals to us the saving work of God’s Son Jesus, who died on the cross for our sins and three days later rose from the dead, offering eternal life to all who believe in him. 

What’s this book worth to you? More importantly, what is the story revealed in it about Jesus worth to you? Be challenged by the psalmist who wrote ‘your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path’ (Psalm 119:105). God’s word, a true ‘Symphony of Stories’, has one composer, God, and is for every season of our lives.