A Book Worth Reading

A Book Worth Reading

Kids’ books are everywhere in our house! Somehow we’ve acquired hundreds of them over the years.  Like the loaves and fishes, they’ve multiplied in miraculous proportion -- outgrowing our shelves and spilling over into baskets.

My boys don’t just read these books. They’ve been used for everything:  ramps for little cars, hard surfaces to draw on, bridges for plastic army men, platforms for Lego towers, and fortress walls to keep our dogs away from their handiwork.

It makes me wonder just how many books in the world have never been used for the reason they were produced -- carefully written, printed and bound, but never read or even looked at. Or maybe they were sent straight to the shelf simply because their covers were unappealing, and they remain there to this day.

In the same way, I wonder how many believers haven’t been given a chance in a role that fits their true passion, strength, or gift.  They quietly fill a need in our Christian communities, but their true potential remains “unread.”  Maybe some of these fascinating Christians have even been shelved by others because they have a slightly “unappealing cover.”  It can be easy to forget that the plot and script of each of these lives was carefully prepared and written by God Himself.

Ephesians 2:10 - For we are God’s masterpiece.  He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things He planned for us long ago.

Have you ever owned a novel that you didn’t bother to read at first?  Maybe it just sat on your shelf for years, or it served as a door stop on windy days.  Then you finally gave it a chance and began turning the pages, just as the author intended… and you discovered the story inside was amazing!

Let’s give our fellow believers that same chance.

Hebrews 10:24-25 - Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works.  And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another.

- Ron Reid