The Real Thing

Bible Reading: The Real Thing

“Guess what!” said Dad as the family was eating dinner one evening. “At our grocery store today, a customer handed me a counterfeit fifty-dollar bill.”

“Counterfeit?” asked Chelsea. “What does that mean?”

“It means the money was fake—it looked like the real thing, but it wasn’t,” her older brother, Trenton, told her. “Did they do it on purpose, Dad?”

“No,” said Dad. “I’m sure the customer didn’t do it on purpose. He probably picked it up somewhere else and didn’t realize it wasn’t real.”

Chelsea picked up her fork and started to eat. “How come he couldn’t tell it was fake but you could?” she asked between bites.

“It can be very hard to spot a fake bill sometimes,” said Dad, “but I handle a lot of money every day at the store. After handling so much money, you get used to the real thing. When that fake fifty-dollar bill turned up, it sort of stood out.” Dad took a sip of his lemonade. “It just didn’t feel right, and when I looked at it more closely, I was pretty sure it was phony.”

“Wow!” said Trenton. “Just like the FBI!”

Dad laughed. “Not quite, but I’m glad I caught it.”

“Me too,” said Mom. “Otherwise the store would be out fifty dollars.”

Dad nodded. “I hope I’d do as well recognizing counterfeit teaching as I did that counterfeit bill,” he said after a moment. “I hope we all would.”

“What do you mean?” asked Chelsea, looking puzzled.

“I recognized that counterfeit bill because I was very familiar with the real thing,” explained Dad. “We should also be very familiar with the real thing when it comes to teaching from the Bible.”

Mom nodded. “If we study it seriously, we learn what it really teaches.”

“Yes, and then if someone comes along with a counterfeit message, we’ll recognize that it’s false and not accept it—even though it may sound a lot like the real thing,” said Dad. “When we’re very familiar with God’s Word, we won’t be easily fooled by false teaching.” – Ruth McQuilkin

How About You?

Do you read your Bible and pay attention when others read it out loud? Do you learn all you can about what the stories and verses teach? The Bible tells us about Jesus and all He has done for us, so it’s very important to know what it says. As you study, ask God to help you understand, and if you’re taught something that doesn’t sound right, look it up. Make sure what you believe is what God teaches.

Today’s Key Verse:
2 Timothy 1:13 (NIV) What you heard from me, keep as the pattern of sound teaching, with faith and love in Christ Jesus.

Today’s Key Thought:

Get to know your Bible