Who Will Tell?

What Are You Reading?

“Well,” you say, “I believe that it is quite obvious that I am reading this article.” Yes, yes, I realize this, but my question to you is: what have you been reading recently? Maybe I should first ask if you have been reading anything at all. Perhaps you would reply, “Yes, I have been reading…why, I have been reading lots of different books and magazines lately.” If this is your answer, my next question would be: how pleasing to the Lord have your recent reading selections been? Has your reading material been that which displeases the Lord? Or have you been reading books that are helping you to grow in your love for and knowledge of the Lord?

“The Bible is generally very little read…the amount of study commonly bestowed upon it bears no proportion whatever to its transcendent importance and paramount value.”

—John Burgon

Sadly, we are living in a society that is reading less and less. And even when something is read, 99 times out of a hundred, it is not God honoring. As Christians, I believe that we should be continually seeking for good reading material that can help us to learn more about the Lord, more about ourselves, and more about how we can better relate to others.

The Bible should always be preeminent in our reading selections. It is imperative that we daily read and search the holy scriptures. How long has it been since you sat down and read a chapter in your Bible apart from a service where the preacher asked you to turn to a particular chapter and verse? How long has it been since you read even a verse from your Bible of your own accord? Many Christians today take the Bible so lightly…this ought not be. One particular Bible scholar by the name of John Burgon states, “I do not think I am delivering a paradox when I say that the Bible is generally very little read….the amount of study commonly bestowed upon it bears no proportion whatever to its transcendent importance and paramount value.” May I challenge you to read your Bible on a daily basis. At first, it will not be easy to do, but as you read your Bible more and more, different passages and verses will start to become dear to your heart and you will soon hunger to be fed from the Word of God. The Bible is like no other book in the world. Burgon states, “the difference between every syllable of Scripture and all other books in the world is, not a difference of degree, but of kind. All books but one, are human: that one book is Divine!”

We should also strive to read about the lives of those faithful Christians who have gone before us. There are many biographies that I have read that have been a real challenge to my spiritual life. Where to start? Some of my favorite people that I have read about in the past have been Hudson Taylor, William Borden, Jim Elliot, Charles Spurgeon, George Whitfield, and Alexander Maclaren. Some of my favorite missionary stories are contained in books such as Peace Child, Lords of the Earth, and To the Golden Shore.

Finding good books to read really isn’t that difficult—it just takes some motivation on your part. One particular website where we have found used books at a pretty good price is Alibris.com.

What are you reading? God has chosen to communicate with us through the written word…are you doing your part to sharpen your reading skills by reading the Bible and good books related to the things of God?