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“Can I please have your autograph??” asked the average American to the famous celebrity.

Why are autographs so special to us? I remember as a kid going with my mom and older brother to baseball card shows occasionally, because some famous baseball player would be there signing autographs. My brother would have the famous player sign a baseball card or picture, and suddenly that ordinary item would become a treasure because a guy wrote his name on it. I had the opportunity a couple years ago to have my favorite band, VOTA, autograph a photo for me in person, and I’ll admit I was pretty excited about that - and it’s still hanging on my wall!

An autograph from a famous person is a special treasure to us because we honor that person. They do something well that we cannot do, and we enjoy watching them do it. Having their hand-written name on something we own makes us feel special because we admire them. So, what does that have to do with the Bible?

Well, the original writings of the Bible are called “autographs.” Unfortunately we do not have the original autographs of the Bible today that were written thousands of years ago, but we do have some very old copies of the Greek and Hebrew texts. But what does this have to do with a famous person writing their name for us, aside from being called the same thing?

Those of us who follow Jesus Christ believe that he has done something very well that we are completely unable to do - He lived a perfect, sinless life, then died and was raised to life again. I know I have not lived a perfect life - not even a perfect day! - and I definitely have not (yet) died, and I will not be raised to life on this earth again once I do die. Because of what Jesus did for me, I honor and praise Him, and He is very special to me and makes me feel special because of His love for me.

Not only do I have Jesus’ name written on my heart (like having my favorite band write their names on a picture), but I have an entire book written about Him and by Him - the Bible, which we have today because of those original autographs of the Scriptures. And that is way more awesome than any baseball player’s name on a baseball card!