In college I took several semesters of German. I got pretty good, reading short articles and speaking coherent sentences. I even practiced my language skills one summer in Europe. Today, that ability has faded, although I did order coffee from a German speaking waitress in Italy last month. You might say that my German has passed away.

I’ve spoken to student groups and churches hundreds of times, and led just as many small group Bible studies. While someone might remember something I said, there’s no treasured compendium of my lectures.

An estimated 250 million books have been published throughout history. I’ve added two to that number, and hope to add a couple more. With all that material, who knows if anyone beyond my circle of friends will notice? Except for a few notable exceptions, even popular titles age out and fade away.

Do any words stand the test of time? Yes—those from the mouth of Jesus. In fact he told his disciples, Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.

The teachings of Jesus continue to motivate and change people for the good. The best-selling and most distributed book of all time is the Bible. Nothing else is even close. Something about the messages in that book keep people intrigued, generation after generation.

Of all the words I experience in our cacophonous world, scarcely any last beyond a breath. Like my German, a handful linger in the recesses of my mind. But when I invest a few minutes every day in the words of Jesus—solid, eternal, life-giving words—I know I’m connecting with words worth my time.

Luke 21:33

Photo by Noah Black