The Only Signature I Want Is God's

Three of my sons and I went to the West Edmonton Mall yesterday. While we were there, we browsed through Chapters, a popular bookstore. As I was looking at some books near the front of the store, a man in his fifties approached me. He told me that he had a table set up in the store for his new book, and if I would buy his book now, he could personally sign it for me.

I looked at his table and saw two very thin paperbacks. Obviously the man wasn't a fiction writer, so my first question to him was, "Who are you?" Although I expected to hear the name of some famous person, which would explain why I'd want his signature, he told me a name I'd never heard of.

Because I was curious and not in a hurry, I asked the man what his book was about. His answer was vague: "Faith."

"Oh brother!" I thought. "It must be some self-help book about faith in yourself to give you the confidence to ask strangers if I they want your signature."

Instead of saying this out loud, I immediately demanded, "Faith in what?"

The man hesitated, so I helped him along, "Are you talking about God?"

He surprised me by saying, "Yes."

His information seemed limited to one word answers, so I continued to ask more questions. As I did, we started to gain an audience of shoppers. "Are you talking about God in a Biblical sense, or are your ideas way out there?"

Ah ha! I finally got a reaction from him. A smirk crossed his face as he responded, "No, I am not way out there. I wrote this book to intellectually persuade non-believers that there is a God."

Well, that answered another question I had: why was he trying to sell his book here instead of at the Christian bookstore. The word "intellectually" solved it for me.

I tried to inconspicuously put his book back down of the table, hoping he wouldn't notice. I didn't want to offend him. I figured his ego must be fragile if he feels compelled to offer his signature freely to others.

After talking with the man some more, I ironically discovered he has his PhD in Bible Theology. Moreover, he hopes to use his mind and his words (not God's Spirit and God's Word) to save souls. When I read the front and back cover of his book, there was no mention of God or any Scripture verse in the Bible. The book was more humanistic then Biblical in theology.

I couldn't understand this man's reasoning. God's Word is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword. It cuts between soul and spirit, joint and marrow. God's Word exposes our innermost thoughts and desires. How does a man think he can outdo God's intellect and God's Word? Is he really trying to attract people to God or is he trying to attract people to him?

"For the Word of God

is alive and powerful.

It is sharper than the sharpest

two-edged sword,

cutting between soul and spirit,

between joint and marrow.

It exposes our innermost

thoughts and desires."

Hebrew 4:12 (NLT)

 After talking with this man, I came to the conclusion, the only signature I want is God's!