3rd July 2018

Our church recently bought a new TV for the ministry centre, and the lady who handled the transaction, gave the original receipt to the treasurer, and a printed copy to me. And then, because I think she suspects there’s a weakness in my filing system, promptly sent me a digital copy. Many shops of course encourage their customers to do this very thing, knowing that their dockets often fade, and especially if exposed too long to light.

It made me muse that though I do not have the original receipt in my possession, I do have a reliable copy, and copied by a reliable person; such that should any need arise to speak to the company about the TV, I can confidently do so knowing that I have ‘proof of purchase’. In fact, even if the ink on the original fades to grey, there’s still a way of demonstrating the original transaction.

That made me muse further, that such is the situation with the Bible. I do not have the original 66 books, nor have I ever sighted them, nor for that matter, to this date, has anyone. But that’s okay. Receipts fade. And why should it be difficult to believe that I have in my possession a reliable copy, made by reliable people? It is neither unreasonable nor naive. In fact, what would be unreasonable would be to demand to sight the original before accepting its validity. Not even a humble TV shop would do that.

DM 3^rd July 2018