Recently, I was asked which verse in the Bible is my favorite. That is a tricky question to answer. With 31,102 verses over 66 books, the answer is most difficult. The response I gave was John 13:1, “Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that His hour had come that He should depart from this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end.” It is not so much the Passover meal that gets me. But, the fact that Jesus loved the disciples “to the end,” either the end of His life or their lives, gives me peace and comfort that Jesus will love me to my end as well.

However, our favorite verse may change over time. Perhaps when we are young, it is a verse about David slaying Goliath, looking forward to the future and the battles we will face: “Moreover David said, “The Lord, who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” And Saul said to David, “Go, and the Lord be with you!” (1 Samuel 17:37). 

It is possible that while we are looking for the right person we want to spend the rest of our lives in love with is the story of Jacob working for Rachel, “So Jacob served seven years for Rachel, and they seemed only a few days to him because of the love he had for her.” (Genesis 29:20).

For others, their favorite verse may describe times when their hearts were crushed, and they found comfort in the Lord: “The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves such as have a contrite spirit” (Psalm 34:18). 

A favorite passage of Scripture for our “senior saints” may be the wisdom Solomon gave in Ecclesiastes 12:1 to the next generation, “Remember now your Creator in the days of your youth, Before the difficult days come, And the years draw near when you say, “I have no pleasure in them.”

Whatever your favorite Bible verses are at any point in your life, they show the Bible’s value throughout our lives. It is timeless to all generations because of the One God who inspired each verse. God knows what we need at all ages, He understands what we need most in life, and He has provided words of guidance and wisdom.

By: Justin Odom