I wish this story was original with me or that I knew who wrote it so I could give him credit.  In either case, it is a good story and needs to be shared.

There once was a woman who was growing old.  Wrinkles and gray hair had begun to appear.  She became a bit stooped over.  Her hands trembled.  She did not see or hear as well as she once did.  All of this upset her. So she prayed, "Lord, please be merciful to me and restore my youth and vitality."

A few nights later, the room in which she was sleeping was filled with a great light that awakened her.  She sat up in bed to see an angel who was holding out to her a piece of parchment.  The angel said, "God has heard your prayer and has sent me to give you this recipe.  If you follow it exactly, you will make an elixir that if you drink it every day will make you young and strong again."

The next morning, the woman thought she must have dreamed the whole episode, except that there was a piece of parchment on her pillow.  She read it, thanked God, and got dressed to be able to find all of the ingredients.

After a quick trip to the store, she had everything she needed.  She began to combine the ingredients according to the directions in the recipe.  She cooked them at the right temperature, stirring constantly.  Once it was finished, she waited fifteen minutes to allow the elixir to cool a bit and then drank eight ounces of it.

Within a few minutes, she realized she was hearing things she had not heard in years and that she could now read the recipe without her glasses.  A look into a mirror showed her that her gray hair had turned back to auburn.  Her wrinkles had disappeared.  Her teeth were now so white they seemed to shine.

She spent a couple of days enjoying her restored youth but then her conscience began to bother her.  She had several friends who had also been growing older.  She knew they would love to have some of the same elixir to drink.  So she invited all of her friends over for a party.

She showed them her youthful appearance, at which they all became jealous and wanted to know how it happened.  She told them about the visit of the angel and the recipe on the parchment.  Everyone wanted a copy of it.  So she passed out pieces of paper and pencils and read the recipe to them, including all the directions.

Her friends took their copies home with them and made batches of the elixir for themselves.  As each of them drank it, they became younger, stronger, more beautiful. 

Then her friends also began to feel guilty.  All of them had other friends who would want a copy of the recipe to make some elixir and regain their youth.  Pretty soon, parties were being held all over town and the recipe was being freely shared.  Many women throughout the county, state, and nation were becoming younger again.

Then tragedy struck.  Although the elixir promised to make women appear younger than they were, there never was a promise of eternal life.  All the women who had been the first ones to drink, died off, looking beautiful till the end.

Worse than that, there was a fire at the old woman's house.  The original piece of parchment with the recipe on it was destroyed.  Some women were afraid that the true recipe would now be lost.

When the women from succeeding generations of those who drank the elixir began to compare notes, they found variations in the copies.  Not all had the same list of ingredients.  Not all had the same directions.  The women decided to meet together and compare notes.  They reviewed everyone's copy and found among the variations certain ingredients and directions that seemed to be there most of the time and seemed to make the most sense.  So they published a new compilation of all the variations, showing what must have been the original recipe as best they could figure out.

There was lingering doubt.  Would an elixir made from this compiled recipe restore youth and vitality as the original recipe had done.  Many doubted.  Many struggled to believe.

Then, the great-granddaughter of the old woman who had first received the recipe from God came up with an idea about how to test the new elixir to see if it was as good as the original one.  Her idea was to make up a batch from the new recipe, drink it, and see what happened.

Now, apply this to the Bible.  Many people today question whether the Bible is the inspired word of God that came from the Holy Spirit to the prophets and apostles who actually put pen to paper.  There are some variations in the copies.  Some things are questionable.  Can we really be sure the Bible we have today is the same Bible God gave the ancient Israelites and apostolic church?

Perhaps the same test would work.  Do everything we can to determine what the original text of the Bible was.  Write it up.  Translate it from Hebrew and Greek into English and other languages.  Then, read and study it.  If it reveals God as it did thousands of years ago, if it tells us about Jesus Christ, if the Holy Spirit uses it to give faith to His chosen people, then it is clear.  This Bible we have today is still the word of God.