Established in Washington, DC, in 1800, the Library of Congress is the official research library of the United States Congress. One of the largest libraries in the world, the Library of Congress has about 838 miles of bookshelves. If those shelves were lined up in a straight line, they would reach from Washington, DC to somewhere near Orlando, FL. On those miles of shelves are found over 160 million items, including more than 38 million books.
At the end of his gospel account, the apostle John wrote that he was bearing witness to all the things that he wrote about Jesus (John 21:24). But, he points out that there are many other things that Jesus did that were not recorded. And, he goes on to say that, if all of the things that Jesus did were to be written down, the entire world could not contain the books that would be written (John 21:25).
Think about that for a minute. The Library of Congress, on its 838 miles of shelves, contains more than 38 million books. The total land surface of the earth is about 57 million square miles. And yet, if all of the things that Jesus has done were actually written down in books, the entire land surface of the earth would not be big enough to hold them. Just imagining that many books is enough to make your head spin!
Let’s take this a step further. John was speaking of the things that Jesus did in the 33 years he spent on earth. But the story didn’t end there. Jesus continued to do things through the early church. He continued to do things throughout the centuries. And He continues to do things today. Lives are changed because of Him. Addictions are broken because of Him. Bodies are healed, chains of depression are broken, and marriages are restored because of Him.
Most importantly, because of Jesus, because of His sacrificial death on the cross, souls are saved every day and will continue to be saved as the good news of salvation through Him is spread throughout the world. When you consider all that Jesus did, all that He is doing now, and all that He will continue to do, you can be sure that John’s words in John 21:25 are no exaggeration!
A Worshiper's Journal 