Finding myself at the Norman public library recently one evening, and perusing the books on the shelves without looking for anything in particular, this book title caught my eye: "So Many Books." It's a little book about books, especially about the amazing proliferation of books today. The author, Gabriel Zaid, says:
"Books are published at such a rapid rate that they make us exponentially more ignorant. If a person read a book a day, he would be neglecting to read four thousand others, published the same day. In other words, the books he didn't read would pile up four thousand times faster than his knowledge."
If you are like myself and already know of more books (or maybe even own more books!) than you will ever get to actually reading, this kind of statement could be discouraging to say the least. So many books, so little time.
But why do we read? Not just to increase our store of knowledge. Reading should stimulate our growth and development as Christians. God gave us a mind and the capacity to grow in understanding the world he created and governs. Reading just one book but profiting spiritually from it is better than reading 100 books and just getting more information.
One good book I am reading now is called "Spiritual Depression" by Dr. Martin Lloyd-Jones. I highly recommend it, even if you are not spiritually depressed! (I'm reading it because it was given to me at my ordination service) If you read it carefully, and take to heart what he says, I guarantee you will be encouraged in your faith in Christ.
Posted by Pastor Scott at March 12, 2004 7:44 PM
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