Books and Friends

Books are wonderful things. There are no replacements for them; not movies, not radio, not oral speaking. Books are in a class by themselves.

Why do you think God chose a BOOK to be the only item in the world that is both physical and spiritual? The Bible alone has that special distinction. ...And the Bible is a book. To me, that means all books are something special, because between their covers there just might lie something that tastes faintly - or strongly - of God's own book.

But if you think about it, books are really people. I mean, you can't separate a book from all the circumstances surrounding its creation, the way it sounds, the way it reads, and say "I love it."

If you love a book, you've fallen in love with something about it; the story plot, the perfect grammar, the glass-clear instructions, the gorgeous illustrations, the word pictures painted in your mind, the humor that keeps you laughing, the suspense the kept you turning the pages, the tragic parts that made you cry... It is the way a book is put together - worded - that makes you love it.

That explains why you can love a splendidly-told story and hate a dry history book, or adore a well-written biography and detest a jibbery novel. Some speak to you politely, elegantly, kindly, and others are full of themselves.

What makes one book differ from another? What is this "voice" that each book has?

If you are sold on a book, what is it you have bought?

It is the author you have bought. It is the author's voice you hear. It is the author's personality that makes a dry subject fascinating, and a potentially good story ridiculous.

It is the author you have fallen in love with.

This is why books are people. You don't read a book; you read a heart.

And that is why when we love the Bible we find ourselves falling in love with God. The author and His work are inseparable. Books are truly friends, and we should be as careful with them as with other friendships.

Read a lot, yes. Meet people - all kinds of people. But for your heart-to-heart friends, chose jewels. Choose people who love what you love, and who love you. And chose books whose authors love what you love. Chose friends - and books - who will lift you up, not drag you down. Chose books - and friends - who will teach you, and who are going or have gone to places you want to go.

...Hmmm...when I started writing this post, I only meant to say a few words about books to introduce you to a new "friend;" a very dear book I have only half finished but am already in love with. The author is a dear lady, and her topic is the missionary life of her father, James O. Fraser. I wanted to quote some passages to you, so you could be blessed as I was. I have ten pages I want to type out and share in their entirety!

But, alas, time is precious, and I don't believe I have enough of it at the moment to complete the post I've started. I shall have to save it for a future day, and simply leave you with this thought:

When was the last time you made a new "friend"? Before I started this book I've mentioned, it had been awhile since I sat down with no other purpose but to read. Reading blogs and researching topics on the web isn't the same as a good book. ...But I'm so glad I slapped myself awake and decided to do myself some good by finding a likely-looking book to open. It's also been a long time since I was so blessed.

Try it.