I have overheard people jokingly say, “I’m old, but I’m not dead.” The person saying that may mean, “Don’t discount me just yet. I have something to offer. Something to give. I am still living.”


The Bible is old. But it’s not dead. Hebrews reminds us that these words printed on paper are somehow alive. We know the Holy Spirit breathed them into being, but we forget He breathes into them still. How else might people read the same Scripture and come away with something different? How else can a text seem to deepen or change hues over a lifetime? Only something alive could do that, actively ministering to people’s hearts as necessary.


One author compares the Bible to a living vein, connecting us to our Maker. The Bible pumps through us the stories and truths and encouragement we need. Almost everything that is alive has an expiration date when it no longer can produce, react, or affect anything. But God’s gift, His Word, never expires. It lives and moves, breathing life into us each time it is read.