"What book is that?" you say; well, some would immediately think I might be referring to the Bible. Well, that would be fine because to hundreds of thousands the Bible is THE BOOK and the Best Seller list always includes the Bible. One author who gets a lot of my attention believes there are three books of God’s self-disclosure. Whether everyone agrees with such an interpretation doesn’t matter but it is an interesting concept, and technically I think there are some good points to consider.

The book of Psalms sheds this light: "The heavens declare the glory of God; and … showeth his handiwork. Day unto day uttereth speech and night unto night show knowledge. There is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard." Psalm 19:1-3
The book of Proverbs has an interesting thought: "…I will make known my words to you." Proverbs 1:23c
The book of Romans gives us this thought: "They are therefore without excuse." Romans 1:20
The book of Acts records: "He did not leave you without evidence of himself." Acts 14:17
It must be kept in mind that the printed Bible as we know it was NOT the resources or references in the minds of the
writers of these Scriptures.

People who have never found it enticing or needful to read the Bible are not without information nor have the truths of life been hidden or kept from them. Assuredly there is The Bible which we can list as one of those three books; and according to Leroy Garrett the other two books are: the book of nature and the book of human nature. The above four selections from the Bible makes it quite plain that somehow, without our awareness, God speaks to us—through some vehicle.
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We have grown so used to having a copy of the Bible in our homes, and many could easily have numerous copies because of the many recent versions published within the past several decades. But what about the people before the printing press was invented? The printing press was a virtual educational machine but before the sixteenth century it is safe to say, for all intents and purposes, the Bible was a private book because the hand written copies of the Bible were "at the church" and were far too expensive for individuals to own, and even if they owned one, illiteracy prevented them from being able to read. When the Bible was printed by Gutenberg it introduced a time when just being able to read was a virtual proof of innocence—even if you could only read a verse or two from the Bible!

If a person never "cracks open a Bible" does that free them of the truths of that Book? If a person never reads the Bible does that mean they do not know God? What do we see when we observe people? We see a mind at work – one person might be obviously set on a purpose to do something or go somewhere. Perhaps we can see an obvious fact of their lives: Is there something about them that tells what they’re thinking? How a person dresses might suggest that adornments or apparel are due to peer pressure. Their physical appearance–well groomed or (too) casual? Today tattoos might give us a peek into their minds–does a tattoo "say something" as to their philosophy of Life? The saying of Mark Twain might fit here: "Clothes make the man, naked people have little or no influence on society."

One thing for sure, God has not left us to wander and wonder what is good and acceptable. Watch others. Look at the animals (you don’t have to be Dr. Doolittle to watch the animals, or even talk to the animals). Do you see traits of the male gender of animals that are similar to the human males? Do you see kindness in others or does their walk show arrogance, conceit, confusion, rebellion or perhaps even bitterness?

Whatever you think of Leroy Garrett’s thoughts about Three Books, be sure there are "books" out there; in fact we are a book that others see and read. What does our life tell others about us? Here is the link to Leroy Garrett’s Web Page where his essay appears. http://www.leroygarrett.org/soldieron/number01.htm

THE WORDWRIGHT