In the Beginning was Information

loss. Paul and Barnabas told the people of Jerusalem: “We had tospeak the word of God to you first. Since you reject it and do notconsider yourselves worthy of eternal life, we now turn to the Gentiles”(Acts 13:46). The rich wheat farmer made plans for his lifewithout considering God, and was told: “You fool! This very nightyour life will be demanded from you” (Luke 12:20). The rich manin hell (Luke 16:19-31) was not lost because of his wealth – Abrahamand Job had been richer – but because he misjudged the relevanceof the information at his disposal.3. Timeliness t: Certain passages of the Bible represent some ofthe most ancient extant writings known to man. All the authors(excluding Luke) belonged to an insignificant, small nation of theMiddle East. In the light of these facts one might conclude thatsuch a book could now only be of historical interest, and its contentswould have been outdated long ago. One may expect thatpeople belonging to the same nation as the authors might regard itas being of cultural interest. In spite of all such considerations millionsof people all over the world concern themselves with thisBook. It is read and loved irrespective of age, language and levelof education. No other book in history is so timely and relevant.What is the reason? Martin Luther commented: “The Bible is notan antique, neither is it modern; it is eternal.”The message of the Bible is relevant for all times. It is always upto-dateand topical because of its eternal dimension. In Matthew24:35 Jesus expresses it thus: “Heaven and earth will pass away,but my words will never pass away.” In this world everything isperishable, except the Word: “The grass withers and the flowersfall, but the word of our God stands for ever” (Isaiah 40:8). God’sWord is thus always up-to-date because of its exceptional nature.The word “today” is often mentioned in the Bible, but its applicabilityhas never been lost over thousands of years.Joshua entreated the Israelites: “Choose for yourselves this daywhom you will serve” (Joshua 24:15a), and even now God calls usin the same way. What a great blessing is entailed when we givethe same reply as Joshua: “But as for me and my household, wewill serve the Lord” (Joshua 24:15b). When Zacchaeus experienceda complete change in his life after meeting Jesus, Christ told159