"God's Words"

Why did I cry?

Why did the tears stream from my eyes the instant I saw God's words. Tiny fragments of them, really.

The Dead Sea Scrolls. Oldest existing copies of the Bible.

The words of Isaiah were familiar:

"Of the suffering of his soul he shall see the light and find satisfaction.

And through his knowledge my servant the righteous one, will make many righteous,

he he will bear their iniquities...

And yet, this time, when I read them, I cried.

Maybe it was seeing them actually penned by the hand of an ancient scribe. Trying to imagine the life of the man 2,000 years ago. The depth of his faith. His steadfast dedication to his task.

Maybe it was understanding for the first time, thanks to a thoughtfully prepared exhibit at the Minnesota Science Museum, the significance of the responsibility of the preservation of those words to the culture of that time.

Maybe it was simply marveling at the enduring message. Words as important today as they were 2000 years ago.

"God," I remember thinking as I gazed at a portion of Psalm 119, "your words have travelled far."

"My eyes fail with watching for your promise;

I ask, "When will you comfort me?"

Maybe it was because I have seen the caves near Qumran where most of the scrolls were unearthed.
Overlooking the Dead Sea.
The pull to return there has always been strong. But yesterday, staring at those fragments, it was almost as though God's words were calling me back.