Today at the Gospel Coalition Conference I heard Ligon Duncan, Pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Jackson, Mississippi preach from 2 Timothy 4:6-22. In the opening of his message he shared this quote from Charles Spurgeon regarding Paul's request to Timothy in the final weeks of his life (4:13) to bring his books to him so he can read.
As the apostle says to Timothy, so also he says to every-one, 'Give yourself to reading.' ... He who will not use the thoughts of other men's brains proves that he has no brains of his own... You need to read. Renounce as much as you will all light literature, but study as much as possible sound theological works, especially the Puritanic writers, and expositions of the Bible... the best way for you to spend your leisure is to be either reading or praying.The fact that the apostle Paul, who knew he was in his final days, was still concerned about reading and writing, gives us a great insight into his life-practices that advanced His influence for the advance of the Gospel and building of the Kingdom of God. May his example influence us to do the same.
3 comments:
Zach,
I certainly agree about the need for Christians to read, but what about Christians who just aren't "into" reading? I know a Christian who spends hours each day watching television, but this person just doesn't like to read-- even good Christian books. How should I think about and approach such a situation? Prayer is obviously called for, but where do I go from there? Should I simply pray and wait for God to possibly change this person's thinking?
Christopher,
Great question. I know people like that too. Not sure what the answer is. Probably prayer is a good start, but also might be good to ask them how they approach Bible reading? Certainly books have only been accessible for a few hundred years, but still should we not indulged the gift of God's Word that we can each own now?
z
Thanks for your good counsel, Zach. I'm not really sure how much time this person spends in the Bible each week (and there is plenty of room for improvement in that area for me, so I want to be careful).
However, fairly recently, he/she (trying to be vague about identity here) shared with me feelings of a somewhat wasted life as a Christian, far too many hours spent watching TV over the years, etc. I tried to be encouraging to the person without making light of possible sin.
I am hoping and praying that God uses his/her feelings of regret to spur him/her to positive action and not resignation or despair. Thanks again for your helpful thoughts!
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