An aged man reached up to the top of his heirloom walnut bookcase
His venous arm grabbed a book of teachable stories his Dad had told

A coating of grayish dust marked the passage of time for pages so old
With fond memories and a warm smile, he held it up to touch his face

As a child, all of its Bible stories held power in seeming literally true
The book illustrations of colored sketches helped him to find a belief

Bible studies as an adult were later done to give him fact-based relief
Were the stories literally true as they were written and is there a clue?

He read theologians, popular authors, and professors of devoted study
Fearless rationality, history, and science were the keys that held sway

His exploration led to individual revelations in being shown the way
No longer were the waters of scriptural knowledge seen as so muddy

Truth seemed buried in the dusty pages of scripture from so long ago
A way of writing by ancient people to voice their experience of God

He viewed the stories more as metaphor than literal, that’s not so odd
Interpretation seen as being in the eye of the beholder, dare he say so!

The book was held to his cheek as the flood of memories went passing
It was time to put it back on his library case, up above, way at the top

It had been a lifetime of Bible study since the stories were read by Pop
The old man smiled for God had granted him an open-minded blessing

Verse by Randall Wehler