Found but not Lost: A Bible Story
by Mike Lynchhttp://www.mikelynchbooks.com/
Even though I was raised in the church, something was still missing in my life. I tried to be a good person, hoping my “goodness” would be enough for God, which I hoped would get me into heaven when I died. Yet, as hard as I tried, I was never sure. One of the things I had been curious about growing up was the Bible. Even though my family went to church on most Sundays, we never had a Bible of our own. I thought about reading the Bible for myself off and on over the years, but never did anything about it.
Everything changed in 1981 when I started dating a co-worker at my job. After we had gone out a couple of times she started to ask me about what church I went to, who I thought God was, and if I had ever read the Bible. I tried to answer her questions to the best of my ability, but I struggled. When I told her I had never read the Bible, she took me to a local Christian book store and bought one for me. I felt both enthralled and humbled at the prospect of reading God’s word for myself. Something about holding it in my hands for the first time brought about a sense of wonder and awe. I decided right then that I wanted this Bible to be my Bible for the rest of my life. Later that week, she took me to a Billy Graham Crusade, and I gave my heart to the Lord at the culmination of his message.
As the years passed, I did my best to understand everything about the Bible. I read it on a regular basis, went to weekly Bible studies, memorized parts of it, and even went to Bible college. However, on a particular day back in 1992 (or thereabouts), someone had gotten into my car and stolen it. When the thief saw the leather covering for my Bible, I suspect he believed it was something of value and took it.
When I realized my Bible had been stolen, I was frantic. I wondered how something like this could happen. I looked everywhere, hoping that the person realized what they had actually stolen and discarded it. Unfortunately, my efforts proved fruitless, and I resigned myself to the fact that I would never see my prized Bible again.
After a couple of days of feeling discouraged I finally decided to return to the same Christian bookstore and buy a new Bible. As you can imagine, I wanted the exact same Bible as before, something that might help soften the feeling of loss. Unfortunately, the book store no longer carried the one I had gotten years before. I was so disappointed that I couldn’t bring myself to buy a new one. Of course, I had prayed to God about this, asking Him to bring my old Bible back, though deep down inside I didn’t think there was much chance of that happening.
The very next day my boss came into my office, holding something in his hand about the size of a textbook, with a black leather cover surrounding it. Could it be my Bible? With my heart pounding, he handed it to me. A quick check let me know that my prized Bible had been found. What was even more amazing was that he knew nothing of what happened. I immediately asked him, “Where did you get this?” He then proceeded to tell me how my Bible had been found.
At the time when my Bible was stolen, I was working at James Lick H.S. As an administrative practice that went back many years, the district pays their employees only once a month. When I received my paycheck, I made it a habit of putting it in my desk drawer and keeping it there until the end of the work day. After work I would head straight to the bank and deposit it. On this particular payday, I inexplicably brought my paycheck with me when I went to lunch and slipped it into the front pocket of my Bible cover. This is something I had never done before, though I didn’t think much of it at the time. It also happened to be the day the thief got into my car and took my Bible. When he realized it wasn’t anything of value (at least in a monetary sense), he tossed the Bible onto the roof of a nearby classroom. It just so happened that construction workers were doing some repairs on that particular building and came across my Bible. One of the workers picked it up and found my paycheck in the front pocket. Our paychecks are sealed in window envelopes, with the employees’ names showing in the window. The person, realizing my Bible belonged to someone who worked at the school, brought it to the associate principal, who in turn returned it to me.
One can look at this story and think that it was a fortuitous set of circumstances that ultimately helped me retrieve my beloved Bible. The day someone took it just happened to be payday. For whatever reason, I brought my paycheck to my car at lunch instead of after work like I normally did. I just happened to put my paycheck in the front pocket of my Bible, which I had never done before. The thief just happened to throw the Bible on a roof where workmen just happened to be doing repairs there a few days later. The workman who came across my Bible saw my name and decided to return it to my boss. He could have just as easily kept my Bible for himself. Instead, he felt compassion for me and returned it. Coincidence, possibly.
What I believe is that God honored my decision back in 1981 to have that be my Bible for the rest of my life, and made sure it was returned to me. I am happy to say that I still have it, happily reading each page of God’s word on a regular basis, and plan to for the rest of my life.
If you would like to know more about Mike Lynch, you can go to his website: www.mikelynchbooks.com
Article submitted Thursday, March 04, 2010 & read 173 times.
Leave Your Comments:
» left by Mark Parsec(373)(148 days 7 hours ago.)
Hi Mike,Thank you for joining us here at Blogz and thank you so much for submitting this wonderful article. I really enjoyed it.God bless you,MarkRespond to this comment
» left by Mike Lynch from San Jose, CA (148 days 7 hours ago.)
Hey Mark, thanks for the kind word. I'm glad you enjoyed the story.MikeRespond to this comment
» left by Linda DeWitt (147 days 12 hours ago.)
Great story. Thanks for sharing and welcome to Blogz. Linda DRespond to this comment
» left by Mike Lynch (147 days 11 hours ago.)
Thank you, Linda. I'm glad you liked the story.MikeRespond to this comment
» left by Robert Greyeagle(1) (147 days 7 hours ago.)
Awesome article, Mike.Respond to this comment
» left by Mike Lynch (147 days 7 hours ago.)
Thanks, RobertRespond to this comment
» left by Kathleen Williams (1 day 15 hours ago.)
Wonderful story! Not many people have such a love for their bible.....the precious word of God. I enjoyed your story very much.Respond to this comment
» left by Mike Lynch (1 day 9 hours ago.)
Thanks, Kathleen. I'm glad you enjoyed the story.MikeRespond to this comment