“Meditating on Four Favorite Verses”
This year’s Bible Bracket featured 64 beloved verses. After all the matchups and votes, one verse was left standing. All of our one seeds — the “chalk” favorites to win, John 3:16, Genesis 1:1, Matt. 7:21, and Ps. 23:1 — went down early, some in the first round! It left us with a surprising but fantastic Final Four.
But the point of all this isn’t the fun of drafting and voting. It’s an opportunity to engage with each other and ourselves in reflection on the Word of God. Let’s meditate at the Final Four and consider why they hold such meaning for so many people.
Romans 12:2 — Crossroads & Caterpillars
“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect” (Romans 12:2).
When we come to a crossroads between fitting in or changing, this verse gives us the practical clarity to choose well. It conjures the image of a chocolate factory conveyor belt, where every chocolate bunny has conformed to the mold. Hundreds of identical pieces of chocolate. But then you see someone has melted one piece down and reformed it into a beautiful, new chocolate sculpture. To change the metaphor, we all get to choose if we’ll live as chameleons, “conformed” to every environment, or caterpillars being “transformed by the renewal” of our minds.
Revelation 21:4 — God’s Hand Will Comfort Us
“He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away” (Revelation 21:4).
God will wipe ”every tear” from our eyes — what a personal promise! I do that for my wife or kids when they cry, but I would never think to touch someone else’s cheek to wipe away their tears. When I read this verse to Evie, my 7-year-old, she said, “But there are probably tears of joy!” Evie’s comment pretty well captures the “new heaven and new earth” (Rev. 21:1). The end of the story isn’t the destruction of the heavens and the earth; it’s the new creation where we come so close to God he can reach out and touch our cheeks to brush all the tears and pain away. Tears of joy might fit a place like that.
Psalm 118:6 — God is Bigger
“The Lord is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me?” (Ps. 118:6).
The scrawny kid on the playground might get picked on, but when they befriend someone bigger than the bullies, they walk tall without fear. God is bigger than anyone who could threaten us. What’s the old saying, God plus one is a majority? If nobody else is with me, I’m okay, as long as the Lord is with me and I’m with the Lord. The sharp, bold brevity of the verse will bolster your courage as you repeat it to yourself, making it the perfect Trust Builder regional finalist!
John 14:6 — A Worthy Champion
“Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me’” (John 14:6).
In the verse before, Thomas said, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” Where is he going? To the Father, and we need union with God, too. How do we get there? Jesus! He’s the only road. People try to find God in many other ways, but Jesus is it (Acts 4:12) — with no asterisks or caveats. Jesus doesn’t just show us the way. He is the way. So it’s not enough to believe in his way. We trust in him. He doesn’t just tell us the truth — he is the reality behind everything. He’s the “true” vine (John 15:1), the “living” bread (John 6:51). He’s the source, ground, and end of everything. The life he IS depends on no life-giving source. He brings life because he is the very essence of life — the power, the fullness, the goodness. As he told Martha, “I am the resurrection and the life” (John 11:25).
If you gave me ten guesses, I might not have predicted this winner of the 2025 Bible Bracket, but it’s kind of perfect. It’s memorable, short, famous, and full of life-saving truth. It’s a hard truth declaring the exclusive path to the Father, a trust builder full of timeless wisdom, and pointing to the precious promise of life in his name. You can hear us discuss these winners at biblegeeks.fm/227.