Gold Edges

Some of my fondest memories are of times spent sitting with my dad by his side as he taught me truths from the Bible. Once while we were sitting together with his worn Bible in his lap, I was fiddling with the pages. I was always intrigued by the gold edges on the pages. I would spread them out so they no longer shined then lined them back up, admiring the shiny gold edges. Dad asked me if I knew why they put gold on the edges of Bibles.

"It's pretty?" I responded.

"Nope," he said, "It is to remind you of the importance of being part of a church."

He explained that when the pages were separate, they weren't as shiny as when they were close together. Like Christians need the fellowship of other Christians to be at our best, the gold edges on the pages of our Bible don't shine as brightly without their "brother and sister" pages. Now, I know that his reason is probably something he made up, but for a young, impressionable, little girl, it was an object lesson than I have never forgotten.

People joke about the "Bedside Baptists" who attend "The Chapel of the Tube". Recently, major television news shows have focused on "internet churches" and propose that in the future churches will be online and people won't want to leave their homes to worship God. But television evangelists and Christian chat rooms will never be an adequate substitute for a church body. Christians need other Christians. We need to worship together. We need to fellowship with one another. We need to hold one another accountable.

Christians truly shine when we are with other Christians!