The Books We Read

This blog is designed to give people an inner look at a devotional life. Taking time each day to spend time with the Lord. The hope is if you travel on this journey with Rev. Jacob Shaw, you may be more inclined to spend time with the Lord as well. I encourage the use of a devotional, a scripture reading and prayer, then finally some form of artistic mark to tie it all together. 

Today's devotional is taken from: Zacharias, Ravi. The Logic of God: 52 Christian Essentials for the Heart and Mind. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2019. [E-Book] Chapter 37: The Books We Read

Opening Thought: Interesting reflection piece for today. Zacharias imparts the value of the written word, in the Christian/Biblical sense but also with books in general. The scripture piece which marks this devotion for today tells us how the scriptures have a pragmatic use to them, they are there to train us in the behavior that believers should live by, like a how-to-guide. There is a varieties of benefits to what we find in books. Zacharias tied this idea of the value of what is written in books to an anecdote about how often people will acquire books but never actually read them. The obvious conclusion to piece together is that many people, including Christians, likely have bibles but never have taken the time to open them up and read them.

As someone who struggled with reading comprehension as a child, I know this reality very well. My father was an avid book collector, theological books to be precise, and I always wanted to be able to enjoy them as much as he did. But when ever I tried to read, it was like the words would not sit still on the page and I would get confused. Years later I would find out that I have A.D.D. and most likely dyslexia as well. Before I found out about these conditions, I longed to find a way to enjoy books, without having to read them. As a child I discovered shows like, Wishbone, a dog which took you through classical literature and brought it to life on the T.V. screen, and as I grew and moved from kids shows I found new methods to enjoy books without reading them. Eventually the more curious I got, the more I just asked my father what his books were about, he would begin to explain his books to me, and then I discovered my real passion, more than books I like conversations about what books contain. I also discovered that I had a key gift to link concepts together from multiple conversations and I began to truly love seeking knowledge. Over time I had to face my anxiety with reading. When I got into my teen years, I pushed myself to move passed my barriers, enough that by the end of high school I was a proficient enough reader to get myself through three university degrees. But my reading skills would have never developed the way it did if my family had not nurtured my love for knowledge. I guess the lesson is that if you teach your kids to wonder and to be truth seekers, even if they are not great readers, they will find a way to search for the value which is contain in the pages of all libraries.   

The devotional begins with: 2 Timothy 3:14-17

 But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

Second Thought: I think one of the reasons I gravitated towards books, despite the process of reading being a challenge, is because my parents were readers. Their actions, which I witnessed growing up, involved regular reading. So it was the normal expectation, so even though I struggled with it, I naturally wanted to get to the destination of reading. My family never forced reading upon me either, I seemed to learn better from watching and listening, so they allowed for that. I think because reading wasn’t forced on me, it allowed my struggles with reading not to become taboo. I think this is a good balance with faith life. If you want your children to be faithful, they need to see you living out your Christian faith, more than just going to church, but being involved in a dedicated study and application of the Christian life. Even if you kids move away from faith during their adolescence and young adult years, they are more likely to come back if faith was a genuine experience in their childhood home, rather than a non-existent or forced experience.  

Continual Work: Read a book! And read your Bible!

What Rev. Jacob is Working On: There are a number of books I am reading right now, I tend to read many books all at once, so I does take me time to get through them all. Currently I am reading three pieces of more classical literature, one devotional, one book on clinical psychology, a few pieces in philosophy, two fiction pieces and of course I always am returning to my Bible. Sometimes I wish I could be a one book at a time person but that just never seems to happen.

Prayer for your day: Father in Heaven, call to us to be a learned people, to seek Your truth, but also seek the wider breadth of information which ripples throughout our world. How can we find You in the conversation held throughout time and articulated in to written form? Help us to find some time this week to sit and pause, crack open a good book, and learn through the expressions of thought, feeling and discovery. Amen.  

Artistic Close: One of the most wonderful feeling is going into a used book story. The beauty of used books is that as long as the words are not damaged, it doesn’t matter how old the book is, the gifts inside still have value. If you get a chance find your way to a used book store and see what you discover.