Reading Light

I. Introduction. The business guru Peter Decker once noted that to be successful, every company needed to answer two fundamental questions: (1). What’s our business? and (2). How’s business? These two questions come to mind as one peruses the local Christian bookstore and notes what the average Christian is reading. As one scans the shelves, he or she is tempted to ask “what is the business of Christian reading?” What are Christians filling their minds with in order to stand strong in this present age of post-modernism and total moral relevance? Is it biblical based and mentally challenging material that will enable one to fight the good fight or is it romance novels disguised as Christian fiction alongside how-to books built around the latest fad topped off with inspirational tales of events that will never happen to us. Now I am not saying that this kind of reading is wrong; I’m saying it is just not enough. It is fine (and even enjoyable) to eat some junk food every once in a while but man does not live by snacks alone. Reading is the art of perusing written material for information or entertainment. Good reading is supposed to make us better people. It should stimulate the mind and enlarge our vision of the world around us. Christian reading, the reading with the express eyes of a believer in Jesus Christ, is to do all that and more. Meaningful Christian reading is the reading of such books that lead us to reflect on the nature of life and the reality of God. A Christian does not necessarily read only those authors who share his or her religious point of view (in fact some of the most enlightening reading comes from the lost who know they are lost but don’t know why). However this kind of meaningful reading should drive a believer to reflect on the important issues of life in this world. Meaningful reading enlightens and expands our vision. But rather than stopping there at ourselves and our material world, Christian reading leads to a spiritual dimension. We should read those books that cause us to think, and to think as believers. Meaningful Christian reading should help us become more and more like Christ in our thoughts and attitudes. Solid Christian reading is edifying. It reinforces biblical truth by showing us the fallen state of the human condition. It shows in real life the graphic need for redemption in Christ Jesus and it asks the hard questions. Solid Christian reading will also teach us the answers we have in our Lord. Novels are the image of man writ large. Real writing accepts that and offers biblical solutions both for believers (what to believe) and non-Christians (who to believe). And like all good literature, Christian reading should be readings of all kind- fiction, history, biography, apologetics, philosophy, and polemics. It boldly analyzes all areas of the argument. It reaches into the whole person, body, soul, spirit. And it should leave us afterwards with the sense of drinking deeply, being challenged intellectually, and appreciating more and more our saving Lord. Reading that causes us to love Christ more and appreciate His grace deeply is reading worth doing.