American Bible Society celebrates its 200th anniversary this month. Hundreds of friends from around the globe, including many leaders of the United Bible Societies, have come to Philadelphia to join the festivities. It has been a great time of remembering the past and planning for the future.

The following paragraphs are the conclusion of a public address drafted by the Rev. Dr. John Mitchell Mason, one of the founders of American Bible Society, two centuries ago. We have updated the language, but the original passion remains evident, and it continues to inspire us today. Be sure to read the first part of this presentation, if you haven’t already, and then receive this bold challenge, across the centuries, to get involved in the Bible cause.

Strategic action

Concentrated action is more powerful action. A national structure facilitates national cooperation, combining greater strength with greater efficiency so that we might carry out the God-sized vision before us. Just as an accumulation of coals burns hotter and longer than individual pieces, so this accumulation of passion, vision, and God-given talent will generate and attract more of the same. Furthermore, the unified efforts of a national entity give it a voice in the global conversation, enabling it to partner directly with other national entities in the carrying out of its mission.

Not only is the vast territory of this nation expanding rapidly to the west, but the growth of our population is outpacing the growth of our moral conviction. Imagine the dreadful consequences of a nation that has lost its gospel hope. Imagine the demons, idols and false religions that would rush to fill that spiritual void, and imagine the impact on our cities, our families, and the human soul.

Imagine a nation that has all the power, education, culture, and abundance of a civilized society, but without the knowledge of God or the Spirit of Christ as its guide. Preventing that scenario could consume all the efforts of this Society.

To help spread the knowledge of God in our day, American Bible Society will not merely supply a sufficiency of Bibles, but will boldly push the bounds of technology and innovation to get God’s Word into even the most hostile and remote regions of our frontier. And this mission will carry us well beyond our borders. The word “American” in our name does not describe the limits of our mission but the source of its emanation. In this high calling, our ambition is to be co-laborers with those who co-labor with God.

You and the Bible

And what about you? Have you experienced for yourself the infinite value of the Scriptures? Can you estimate how much it’s worth to hold in your hands the truest vision of your highest hopes? The fullest summation of who you are? And whose?

Can you endure the thought of not having access to God’s gift because of language? or money? or grief? or persecution? Can you endure the thought of responding with anything but quickness and courage to the spiritual needs of this nation? Of the world? Will you accept the invitation to do your part in this grand and magnificent mission?

When God transforms a human heart, whether prince or pauper, what instrument does he primarily use? That which unites Christians in all places and times: the Bible! The Bible! And through Bible Societies!

What is your part?

Come then, friends and fellow followers of Christ, let us join together. Prepare your hearts to break for the brokenhearted; prepare your hands to work for the poor; prepare your time and your skills and your finances to invest in Bible ministry; and most of all, pray without ceasing! Let us serve together with joy and passion, creativity and gratitude.

And may God confirm for you that whenever a single Bible is given to a family in need, the Word of God radiates the grace and truth of Christ into a community that is increasingly vulnerable to the cruelty and lies of this world. And just as a single Bible can reach a community, so a large number of Bibles could illuminate entire regions of our nation and successive generations of Christians with the knowledge of God that produces life abundant and eternal.

While it is true that our eagerness may outstrip our abilities, this much is certain: we will remain faithful and obedient to our calling. We will pursue the loftiest activities because we serve the loftiest mission. We will minister to the blessedness of hundreds, thousands, and millions whom we may never know or see. We shall labor in the wilderness with every ounce of our strength until we can work no more, conferring on our children and theirs the delight of seeing that wilderness turned into a fruitful field, by the blessing of God upon that seed which we, their ancestors, sowed, and they themselves watered.

And finally, we shall do our part to ensure the expansion, in radius and intensity, of that divine light which warms in its progress both the palaces of the great and the villages of the small, until the whole earth is “filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea!” (Habakkuk 2:14).