I am a product...[of] endless books.
~C.S Lewis
I was trying to come up with a witty way to express how important books have been to me
but C.S. Lewis--who isn't close to my heart for nothing--has already put it perfectly, so I (gratefully) won't try.
To me, my spiritual growth can be charted most clearly in terms of books.
Here are some of the most helpful and inspiring books I have made friends with, walked along with.
Do you realize that book friends are the only friend--besides Christ--you can introduce to others, and hope they become just as close, with the delight of perfect unselfishness? without having to experience any pangs of insecurity or jealousy?
Here, I introduce you to some of mine, and hope your friendship will prove as meaningful as ours has been.
but C.S. Lewis--who isn't close to my heart for nothing--has already put it perfectly, so I (gratefully) won't try.
To me, my spiritual growth can be charted most clearly in terms of books.
Here are some of the most helpful and inspiring books I have made friends with, walked along with.
Do you realize that book friends are the only friend--besides Christ--you can introduce to others, and hope they become just as close, with the delight of perfect unselfishness? without having to experience any pangs of insecurity or jealousy?
Here, I introduce you to some of mine, and hope your friendship will prove as meaningful as ours has been.
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Eyes Wide Open by Steve DeWitt
'Beauty is God's invitation to delight in Him.'
'Wonder can save us, when it convinces us that nothing is more desirable or beautiful than Christ.'
'When we wake up to the fact that no relationship can fully satisfy, we realize that we are lonely for God.'
'We need infinity. Not that we can understand it. But only with it does life make any sense.'
~Steve DeWitt, Eyes Wide Open
What is the Gospel? by Greg Gilbert
'The Christian life is not just about making sure you avoid God's wrath. Far from it! It's about being in a right relationship with God, and ultimately enjoying Him forever.'
'It's not enough to say that Jesus came to save us from our sins, if what we mean by that is that he came to save us from our isolated mistakes. It's only when we realize that our very nature is sinful--that we are indeed "dead in our trespasses and sins," as Paul says (Ephe. 2:1,5) --that we see just how good the news is that there is a way to be saved.'
~Greg Gilbert, What is the Gospel
Reading Between the Lines by Gene Edward Veith, Jr.
'The best writing--whether 'realistic' or 'fantasy'--tends to involve us in life more deeply...Good literature may give us escape, but it also brings us back, rearmed with insight for our everyday experiences and with a new appreciation for the texture of actual life.'
'Cultures as such cannot be Christian--only individuals, enlightened by the Holy Spirit, can have faith in Christ. Sometimes a religion that becomes wholly intertwined with its culture becomes false and idolatrous, confusing cultural customs and institutions with spiritual truth.'
~Gene Edward Veith, Reading Between the Lines
The Peacemaker by Ken Sande
'Every time you encounter a conflict, you will inevitably show what you really think of God.'
'There are three dimensions to the peace that God offers to us through Christ: peace with God, peace with one another, and peace within ourselves...it is impossible to know genuine internal peace unless you also pursue peace with God and others.'
'Forgiving is an active process; it involves a conscious choice and a deliberate course of action.'
~The Peacemaker, Ken Sande
The Four Loves by C.S. Lewis
'It has not pleased God that the distinction between a sin and a duty should turn on fine feelings.'
'We were made for God. Only by being in some respect like Him, only by being a manifestation of His beauty, loving-kindness, wisdom or goodness, has any earthly Beloved excited our love. It is not that we have loved them too much, but that we did not quite understand what we were loving...By loving Him more than them we shall love them more than we do now.'
'A man's spiritual health is directly proportional to his love for God.'
~The Four Loves, C.S. Lewis
'It has not pleased God that the distinction between a sin and a duty should turn on fine feelings.'
'We were made for God. Only by being in some respect like Him, only by being a manifestation of His beauty, loving-kindness, wisdom or goodness, has any earthly Beloved excited our love. It is not that we have loved them too much, but that we did not quite understand what we were loving...By loving Him more than them we shall love them more than we do now.'
'A man's spiritual health is directly proportional to his love for God.'
~The Four Loves, C.S. Lewis