Mary Jones And Her Bible

John Meade and Peter Gurry in their book Scribes & Scriptures recount the inspiring story of Mary Jones who was about eight years old when she became a Christian. Having learned to read, she wanted to own a Bible in her native Welsh language. But in 1800, Bibles were expensive and hard to come by in Wales. A Bible owned by a relative of Mary's, who lived several miles from her home, was her only access.

So, she saved for six years until she had enough money to buy one of her own. When she sought out the Bible, she was told that a Mr. Charles was her best hope. The only problem was that he lived some 20 miles from Mary's home.

Undeterred, she walked the entire way, barefoot, to find Mr. Charles and fulfill her dream of owning her own Bible. Mary’s story lives on today at a visitor center in Wales dedicated to her memory.

The story of Mary Jones' Bible does not end with her. In 1802, at a meeting with church leaders in London, Mr. Charles recounted her dedication to owning her own Bible. He was there to urge a solution to the lack of affordable Bibles in Wales.

A pastor there named Joseph Hughes asked if a new society could be formed. But he went further, asking, “If for Wales, why not for the United Kingdom? And if for the Kingdom, why not for the world?” That question was eventually answered, with the help of William Wilberforce and other members of the famous Clapham sect, by the formation of the British Foreign Bible Society. Today, it works with an international network of other Bible societies to produce and distribute millions of Bibles in hundreds of languages around the world. All of this stems from one girl's determination to own her own Bible.

We are so blessed to have so much access to the scriptures and yet the editor of CT magazine reported that Bible reading dropped dramatically in 2022. It is unclear why. Roughly 50 percent of American adults reported opening Scripture at least three times a year every year from 2011 to 2021 according to American Bible Society surveys. But in 2022, that number declined to 39 percent. That means that amid record inflation, threats of nuclear war in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, and ongoing debates about the state of democracy, there were about 26 million Americans who stopped reading the Bible. More than half of Americans say they wish they read the Bible or read it more…Younger people, in particular, say they are drawn to Bible reading plans and Bible studies that look at whole chapters or complete stories. Here is the statistical breakdown of the 39% of Bible readers:
27% Read the Bible in print
19% Read the Bible on an app
18% Read the Bible online
11% Listen to the Bible on a podcast

How about you? Do you have a hunger for the Word of God like Mary Jones did? Are you reading your Bible consistently? If you’re not, let me encourage you to engage or reengage in a consistent and systematic practice of spending time with God in His Word. Jesus said that man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. And Paul said that “faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God” (Romans 10:17). It is through the Word of God that we are reminded that God is always trying to take us someplace new. I love being your Pastor!

For God’s Glory Alone,

Pastor Ray


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