Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Good Books- throw them away

That's right, especially as christians, we shouldn't tolerate good books in our houses.
Not because God hates them book learners.
But because someone else should read them.

My life is randomly peppered with anecdotal evidence for this claim.

When I was 17, my youth group leader left his job in order to be a missionary overseas. On his last night with us, he mentioned he had a stack of books he wasn't taking...would anyone like them. No one claimed them so I dived in. While it took me a few years to get through them all (still haven't), two standouts that changed my world early on were Jim Packer's ' Evangelism and the sovereignty of God' and Francis Scaeffer's 'Escape from Reason'.

Two years later my Mum let slip that her church library was getting rid of boxes of books that weren't seen to be suitable. Apart from the many spare Bibles I picked up (unsuitable?..) standouts were works by Calvin, McCheyne and Spurgeon.

And more recently I have been blessed by the faithful ministry of my mate Matt. Every birthday, he would arrive with a christian book. Not a sappy, 'might as well be a self help book' type book, but a meaty, lets make you think about your faith a bit book. Though there have been so many books from Matt that have dominated my life and thoughts, the two in front of me right now are Wright's ' Jesus and the Victory of God' and DRB Robinsons ' Faith's Framework'.

Without these three events/ influences, I really don't know who I would be today.

Books change things.
I'm sure good books have changed your life too.
Let them run free. Give them away.

2 comments:

Matthew Moffitt said...

I liked it when BBC gave away books and I picked up Calvin's Institutes for free. Thanks bro!

Matthew Moffitt said...

And chuck me your resurrection essay please.