On my shelf I have a book “Best Bible Bits”, published in 1984. It started out as a school project to discover how to encourage others to look at the Bible, and one of the ideas was to ask famous people what their favourite bits of the Bible were, in the hope that this might inspire others to look at it too.

So the pupils wrote to a wide variety of people – from Kenny Everett to Margaret Thatcher (the then Prime Minister) to Ronnie Barker to Prince Charles and more beside. It makes for interesting reading, not least because of the reasons that some of them gave for their favourite passages:

Kenny Everett (a comedian, young people) liked Genesis 1 because “he thinks God is very clever to have made everything in six days.”

Margaret Thatcher did not comment but liked Psalm 46: “God is our refuge and strength…”

Ronnie Barker chose the parable of the labourers in the vineyard (Matthew 20:1-16) because “it is a marvellous lesson about the dissatisfaction that can be caused by envy – which is, in my opinion, one of the most destructive forces in the world today.”

Prince Charles liked Matthew 7:12 about treating others how you want to be treated.

I wonder how many of these people realised that God was speaking to them through these words…

If you had been asked, what would you say is your favourite Bible passage? Why?

I might be tempted by 2 Kings 2:23-24* for some reason, especially when being mocked for my ‘short back and shine’ hairstyle.

I might go for the Fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-26).

Or I might go for the resurrection narratives.

But I think I would choose 2 Timothy 4:5: “Keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.” Those words were spoken over me the day I was baptised, aged 13, and have meant a lot to me throughout my life, especially in my life as a Minister.

So, go on, what’s your favourite Bible bit, and why? Don’t make it a rhetorical question!

Be blessed, be a blessing

*2 Kings 2:23-24 “Elisha left Jericho and went up to Bethel. He was walking along the road. Some boys came out of the town. They made fun of him. “Get out of here, baldy!” they said. “Get out of here! You don’t even have any hair on your head!”  He turned around and looked at them. And he asked for bad things to happen to them. He did it in the name of the Lord. Then two bears came out of the woods. They attacked 42 of the boys.” (NIRV)