DO WE READ ENOUGH?

On Reading


Christians are people of the book: God purposely chose the medium of typography to deliver his revelation to us. In that book, we are commanded to love God with our hearts and our minds (Matthew 22:34-40). This gives Christians a clear command to use their intellects — to be, in other words, a kind of intellectual.

Reading is one of the best ways to develop our minds. It can help us to know God and ourselves, gain vicarious experience, increase our perception and imagination, train our minds to think critically and logically, and teach us self-discipline.

But we have a problem: our culture is becoming aliterate. We have the ability to read but not the desire. Or maybe some of us have the desire but not the time. We make time to watch television and surf the Internet for the latest triviality, but we can't seem to make the time to sit down and read for an hour.

Christians should be readers. We should read and meditate on the Bible, of course, but we should also read theology. Good theology systematizes and explains the Bible in ways we would be pressed to come up with on our own. Few of us are a Jonathan Edwards, John Owen, J. I. Packer or John Piper, and we would be wise to learn from them.

Most of us know we should read the Bible and theology. But what about other subjects, like literature, history, biography, science, and culture? And what about books by non-Christians? I think we should read widely, and yes, that includes reading non-Christians. John Calvin thought so too:

Therefore, in reading [non-Christian authors], the admirable light of truth displayed in them should remind us, that the human mind, however much fallen and perverted from its original integrity, is still adorned and invested with admirable gifts from its Creator. If we reflect that the Spirit of God is the only fountain of truth, we will be careful, as we would avoid offering insult to him, not to reject or condemn truth wherever it appears. In despising the gifts, we insult the Giver.... Nay, we cannot read the writings of the ancients on these subjects without the highest admiration; an admiration which their excellence will not allow us to withhold. But shall we deem anything to be noble and praiseworthy, without tracing it to the hand of God? (Institutes II.ii.15-16)

God has set up the world so that even non-Christians can find truth. I've learned truth from Christians and non-Christians. We can't expect non-Christians to have sound theology, but they are some of the best authors in other subjects. If we reject their Spirit-given insights because they are non-Christians we, as Calvin says, "insult the Giver."

C. S. Lewis was a voracious reader. From reading Surprised by Joy, one has the impression that he read pretty much everything by the time he was fifteen. But this was the secret to his success. The reason he could communicate truth so clearly was because he lived many lives through reading. He considered subjects from a diverse perspective through reading widely. I can think of none better to give us a final exhortation to make use of God's great gift of reading:

Those of us who have been true readers all our life seldom fully realize the enormous extension of our being which we owe to authors. We realise it best when we talk with an unliterary friend. He may be full of goodness and good sense but he inhabits a tiny world. In it, we should be suffocated. The man who is contented to be only himself, and therefore less a self, is in prison. My own eyes are not enough for me, I will see through those of others. Reality, even seen through the eyes of many, is not enough. I will see what others have invented….

Been awhile

Well, the job search has been slow. The competition here is STIFF. Had to come up with a postcard campaign to get the ball rolling.

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In the meantime, I got bitten by the golf bug.

I love it. Sports to me has always been a metaphor of life. There are goals, there are trials, there is glory, there is defeat and ultimately victory. Hitting that white ball doesn't seem hard at all, but the degree of body control is precise. I mean if hitting a golf ball was as easy as YOU THINK, we all be TIGER WOODS wouldn't we?

My father in law was surprised how quickly I caught on, but I'm a stickler for proper mechanics. Also I've been taking care of my body most of my life so it serves to transition perhaps easier than others.

WHAT I'VE LEARNED:

1) Imagine a horizontal line from the left to the right of the ball. Keep your swing along that plane.

2) Keep your eyes on the ball.

3) Keep the arms straight, hook the fingers on the grip, on the balls of your feet, and then bring your arms up, then let your hips turn, as you bring your swing down...keep it controlled and smooth. Effortless. Let the hips do the torque.

4) Follow through.

PRACTICE TWO HUNDRED MORE DRIVES.

Good thing golf is cheap here for practices.

Dedicated to my wife

The Unemployed Poem

There is none like my Michele,
Dancing last night with you my love was a dream,
Seeing your eyes - our worries gone,
Your smile was beautiful as a light from heaven.

I know last night was about another bride,
But seeing you in your black dress clinging to your body,
I was taken back and for this husband of yours,
Last night was about you once again:

The woman God gave from heaven above,
A woman of such heart to love this man and cling to him,
You are special in my eyes in every way and I say again,
There is none like my Michele.

She is lovely, she is bright, and she is mine!
I boast above the dancing crowd, cheerful and loud!
I love her, I am proud of her, and I adore her so!

Holding her she takes me to places of bliss -
the commitment of our vows, the passions of our kisses, and the sweet stares of a beauty beyond my wildest dreams.

In my lack of strength - you love me back,
In my fears of failure, you guide me with your embrace,
and for that you are to me, I will be for you and more.

There is none like my Michele whom I so adore.

Much love, your husband Gordon