On Reading and Writing
It is sad to say that I often view reading and writing as unfruitful activities. If I sit down to read, I will not build anything, I will not have any meaningful conversations with anyone; I will just sit there and fill my mind with whatever it is that I am reading. However, over this school year, I am becoming more and more convinced that reading and writing are, in fact, very productive.
The first two chapels of this week have prompted me to think and write on this topic. Chapel this week is themed around Church History, and Dr. Stephen Nichols has spoken both today and on Monday about John Bunyan and Jonathan Edwards. As I was listening, I realized that I was very grateful that Dr. Nichols had done his homework, read, and written about church history. And I'm glad that Edwards and Bunyan developed skill in the area of writing and that their ideas have been preserved over the centuries.
Reading has impacted my own life in many ways. After all, the Bible is a book. God chose to reveal himself to us in writing. Without this revelation, I would not be a Christian, my parents would not have been Christians, and neither would the people who led them to the Lord. Outside the Bible, many authors (of both fiction and non-fiction) have influenced me with their writings. One author that comes to mind quickly is John Piper. John Piper has read a lot of books, and he has shared what he has learned through his own writings, and these writings have, in turn, impacted my life greatly.
It is easy to see the fruit that reading and writing have produced in the world on a broad scale as well as on the individual level, so I'll think twice before concluding again that reading and writing are fruitless.
The first two chapels of this week have prompted me to think and write on this topic. Chapel this week is themed around Church History, and Dr. Stephen Nichols has spoken both today and on Monday about John Bunyan and Jonathan Edwards. As I was listening, I realized that I was very grateful that Dr. Nichols had done his homework, read, and written about church history. And I'm glad that Edwards and Bunyan developed skill in the area of writing and that their ideas have been preserved over the centuries.
Reading has impacted my own life in many ways. After all, the Bible is a book. God chose to reveal himself to us in writing. Without this revelation, I would not be a Christian, my parents would not have been Christians, and neither would the people who led them to the Lord. Outside the Bible, many authors (of both fiction and non-fiction) have influenced me with their writings. One author that comes to mind quickly is John Piper. John Piper has read a lot of books, and he has shared what he has learned through his own writings, and these writings have, in turn, impacted my life greatly.
It is easy to see the fruit that reading and writing have produced in the world on a broad scale as well as on the individual level, so I'll think twice before concluding again that reading and writing are fruitless.
posted by Ben Blakey at 4:03 PM
3 Comments:
I am thankful for the Christian writing of others. That is one way we can be blessed by the spriritual gifts of other believers from other places and even other eras. We benefit from gifted teachers in our own churches, but through their wrtitings we can benefit from others we could never hear personally. Praise the Lord!
Bro, When I was studying writing at Master's, Dr. Simons said that the "gospel" was to write two hours a day. He also said we'll never be able to write unless we read. I must admit that the more I did this, the more I benefitted.
Amen, brother. Thanks for WRITING this great post.
Derek
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