BILLY GRAHAM

DEAR DR. GRAHAM: I find the Bible interesting (or at least parts of it), but I don’t think we ought to follow it as a guide for our lives. After all, it’s thousands of years old, and we live in a different world today.

— G.K.J. DEAR G.K.J.: Yes, we do live in a different world — and yet millions of people all over the world still look to the Bible to guide them and give them hope. They have discovered that Jesus’ words — spoken almost 2,000 years ago — are still true: “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away” (Mark 13:31).

Why does the Bible still speak to us today? The first reason is because it tells us about God — and God never changes. Time moves on, governments rise and fall, life moves steadily from cradle to grave — but God never changes. His love never changes, nor does His holiness and purity. And because God does not change, we can depend on His Word, and turn to it for the guidance and help we need. The Bible says, “Every word of God is flawless” (Proverbs 30:5).

But the Bible also still speaks to us because human nature has not changed. The same selfishness and anger that caused Cain to kill Abel at the dawn of history still infect our hearts today. And just as God’s Word spoke to that generation, so it still speaks to us — rebuking us, guiding us, and turning us toward God.

Send your queries to “My Answer,” c/o Billy Graham, Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, 1 Billy Graham Parkway, Charlotte, North Carolina, 28201; call 877-2-GRAHAM, or visit the website for the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association: www. billygraham.org.

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