"Does God write Bibles and then throw them down from Heaven?" a little boy in my Sunday school class asked.

Before I could answer, the little boy sitting next to him looked at him as if he were crazy. "No, silly. If God threw them down they would be burned up in the atmosphere before they landed."

Good answer, I thought to myself. Now how do I explain to a group of six year olds the origin of the Bible. I did my best but I'm not sure they understood. They sure got me to thinking though.

If children don't understand how we got the Bible, what about adults who are non-believers? How do we explain to them how God sent His word to us as a guide from earth to heaven?

My mom and dad were both Christians and we attended church every Sunday. My parents didn't sing lullabies to me as a baby, they sang church songs. I don't need a song book at church because every hymn we sing is imprinted on my heart. I was baptized at the age of 12, drifted from the faith during my teen years, and recommitted my heart to Christ in my 20's. This week I will have my 48th birthday (Lord willing) and never once in those 48 years have I ever wondered where the Bible came from.

I didn't have to wonder because I knew. The Bible is God's holy inspired word written by different men who recorded historical events as God directed them to speak and write. (2 Timothy 3:14-17; 2 Peter 1:20-21)

How lonely it would feel to not know God.
Imagine my shock when this small town country girl moved to Atlanta and found out that not everyone believed as I did. I worked with several Jewish women who told Jesus jokes when they thought I couldn't hear them. One young girl was about to get married and she confessed to me that she hoped she might be the mother of the Messiah. I drove past churches and temples of every kind of faith imaginable. 

Eventually, my husband and I moved back to Kentucky to raise our family. A few years ago I was working on a story and interviewed a woman who, during the course of the conversation, confessed she didn't believe in God. That was another first for me. I'm sure my mouth dropped open with surprise. Then, a few weeks ago I was at a doctor's office and picked up an old Reader's Digest. In it was a story about a woman who didn't believe, but whose child prayed to God about his father who was stationed in Iraq.

I try to imagine what it would be like not to believe in the Bible. I try to think how lonely it would feel to not know God. I wonder how I could survive without praying to my Savior. I don't know the answer to those questions and I pray I never will. But, my new understanding does fill me with a sense of urgency and compassion to help those who don't come to know the Lord and appreciate His Word!