“Reading Christians are growing Christians,” said John Wesley, “When Christians cease to read, they cease to grow.” How true! In the past, I used to give three books per month through my blog (this was before I entered the full-time ministry. Cash is king!). There were three main reasons why I giveaway books for free: 1) So that my readers can gain godly wisdom, get inspired, and be motivated to live a Christian life through Christian’s literature; 2) To give them a tool to stir, exercise, and polish the edge of their God-given mind; and 3) To cultivate their passion for reading. Although I’m not giving away books anymore, the reason number 3) is still part of my purpose why I write book reviews and this kind of post.
In my opinion, reading is essential for Christians to grow mentally and spiritually. I venture to say that today, reading is one of the main ways God effectively speaking to us on a daily basis (Have you ever wonder why God give us The Book - a.k.a. The Bible - as the medium for us to know His will, His works, and His sovereignty?). On reading, the apostle Paul’s counsel to young Timothy to “focus on reading the Scripture” (1 Timothy 4:13), which in context referred to the public reading of the Old Testament. J. Oswald Sanders, in his classic book Spiritual Leadership, comments on 2 Timothy 4:13: “Paul’s advice is appropriate for other areas of reading as well. Paul’s books – the one he wanted Timothy to bring along – were probably words of Jewish history, explanations of the law and prophets, and perhaps some of the heathen poets Paul quoted in his sermons and lectures. A student to the end, Paul wanted to spend time in study.” If Paul, who God used to write half of the New Testament and was in prison waiting for his death sentence when he wrote letters to Timothy, continues his study by [wanted to] reading books, do you think reading is not important for Christians?
Read to “fill the wells of inspiration,” advise Harold Ockenga, an evangelist and avid reader himself. I say read for spiritual benefit, read for intellectual growth, read to cultivate speaking and writing style, read to acquire new information and knowledge, read to keep current with the time and read to polishes the edge of your God-given mind. Aldous Huxley, an English writer and philosopher, reminds us: “Every man who knows how to read has it in his power to magnify, to multiply the ways in which he exists, to make his life full, significant and interesting.”
#ServeToLead #GrowingLeaders #LeadersAreReaders #LetsMakeReadingCoolAgain
To read my previous #1Book1Week book reviews, CLICK HERE
1) Unveiling the End Times In Our Time (2004) by Adrian Rogers, READ HERE
2) A Word to Fellow Pastors and Other Christian Leaders (1875, 2019) by Horatius Bonar, READ HERE
3) How To Think Like Einstein (2000, 2015) by Scott Thorpe, READ HERE
4) The Chronicles of Narnia: The Horse and His Boy (1954) by Clive Staples Lewis, READ HERE
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