A few months ago I met a gentleman who had a Bible sitting on his desk. On the cover of this Bible it said "Entering Heaven". I remember thinking what a clever thought to have printed on a Bible, this man must be a Christian. It was a three second observation and I continued on to whatever it is that I do. Two months later I found myself as a witness to a conversation taking place about death when something was said about salvation. The gentleman I had met earlier stood amongst this group of ponderers and upon hearing the statement of salvation he rose from his relaxed position and in a two phrase sentence finished with "I am my own salvation". The emotions that arose in me equaled his own as I was offended for God that anyone would utter such words, especially one I had mindlessly declared a Christian. My thoughts then took me back to the Bible sitting on his desk and left me wondering why the words "Entering Heaven" if he was so strongly against the One who resides there?
Two days ago I was listening to a lady who was telling me about a Bible she kept on a shelf at work. She cherished this Bible because it was given to her by friends, when she owned a candy store. Years later the lady had moved on to another job and found herself in a conversation with a gentleman who shared that he had no Bible, because he had left his with his sister. The lady was led to give him the Bible on her shelf that had been engraved with the name of her candy store, Heaven. Due to a case of mistaken signentity, the words printed said "Entering Heaven" and so now sits this Bible on the desk of a gentleman I met.
And so tonight I ponder on the assumptions we are so quick to make. A Bible on a desk doesn't make a person a believer and words so cleverly printed can often be misleading.
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