Last Sunday we spoke of loving God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength. After the service a couple people mentioned to me their desire to grow in how they love God with their mind. This is a desire I hope we all have throughout our life. For many of us desiring to grow in our mind for God means we will soon be out in search of good book. Books have this powerful ability to walk with us through an area of faith or the scriptures in a very intimate and powerful way. You don’t have to read a lot to follow Jesus well, but reading good books will almost always help you follow Jesus better. Following Jesus better always brings joy and joy if you haven’t noticed, is pretty nice.
So, maybe you’ve been thinking it’s time to crack a book again. Maybe you’re thinking about where to begin. If you’re like most of us you’ll probably start by thinking about what topic you’d like to read about, grow knowledgeable of or be mentored in. That’s completely fine. I’d like to let you in on a little personal secret though. (O.K. actually I learned it from about twenty great men and women God has placed a little bit ahead of me in life.) What you are reading about is less important than who’s words you are reading. The reason this is true is because a great and Godly author will always take you to great and godly places. Individual topics (like prayer, giving, theology, family) will come and go, but when you are reading the words of someone worth learning from you will always grow. The only question is how you will grow. The opposite is true as well. Some books can bring with them a momentary uptick in knowledge, conviction and passion that eventually fades. You have given them your time, your heart, your mind, but there is little fruit from it.
What this means in real life is that once I find a person who’s writings don’t just inform me, but grow me I grab tight and never let go until I’ve wrung every drop of beautiful goodness from their life’s work. The really best part of all is the pleasure that comes from knowing when you pick up a great book that it really is going to be great!
Every author is a teacher, every book is a school. Select them well and you will be blessed.
Next post I’ll share some of the authors I’m enjoying reading the most these days. In the mean time why not click on the Facebook icon on the top right of this page and let us know what books you have enjoyed most?
