A Path

 by Alice Valdal

 While on my way to Bible Study I came across an odd sign.  "No Trespassing.  Use at your own risk."  I was puzzled, because, to me, No Trespassing, means keep out, do not enter, under no circumstances cross this line.  While use at your own risk, implies that I may use the path, in fact, it is almost an invitation to do so.
   I took the path. 
   As I walked along, not knowing where I was going, but confident that the path would lead me safely through the forest, I thought it an appropriate metaphor for Bible Study.  Sometimes, we don't know where we are going, but we have a path to follow, and we can trust the One who made the trail. 
    I discovered some new territory and came out in an unexpected place.  Rather like reading the Bible.  Even in familiar passages one can discovered new insights and come out in an unexpected place.  History is full of people whose lives were completely redirected by reading God's Word. 
  Consider Harley Swiggum, a member of the US navy who was assigned to the island of Saipan at the end of World War II.  By some measure, it was a cushy assignment.  His only job was to keep the bathrooms clean.  By other lights, it was a crushing bore.  The island had been secured and there was really nothing for him to do.  

    In desperation, he pulled about the New Testament he had been given by the American Bible Society. With time on his hands, he started to read the Gospels. He read them over and over. He even found a special place to read them, walking to the highest mountain above Camp Calhoun. As he read and reread the Scriptures Jesus became real to him and his faith grew. He started gathering the other men and they read the Bible together.
        When he went home, he set out on a whole new path.  He attended Luther College and eventually created the Bethel Bible Study series, a program that has changed millions of lives.
When an unknown path opened before him, Dr. Swiggum  took it, trusting the One who made it to lead him safely home.  
    The intriguing sign that lured me down an unknown path said, "use at your own risk."  Perhaps our Bibles should come with a warning, "read at your own risk."