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Have you been in a bookstore lately? If so, no doubt you’ve noticed that more and more the store is devoted to gifts and cards and less and less to books. Why is that? I suppose there are lots of reasons, but the facts are, reading books is becoming a lost art! Certainly, the internet and electronic media have contributed to this, and our ever-shortening attention spans as well. But reading a good book is one of the best gifts you can give yourself and others.
I’m going to suggest a few classics that I highly recommend you read. I truly believe every Christian would benefit from reading these books.
First, I want to recommend a book by C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity. As the title suggests, Dr. Lewis’s purpose was to present Christianity in its most basic form and explain why he had come from an atheistic belief to be a true disciple of Jesus Christ. He was a wonderful, deep thinker and was called the most original Christian writer of the last century. Let me quote from the chapter entitled “What Christians Believe”:
“I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about (Jesus): ‘I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept His claim to be God.” That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic—on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg—or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God; or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with a patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.” (Page 55-56)
What an ingenious and brilliant summary of who Jesus claimed to be and indeed who he is. And this book is full of this kind of beautifully written truth and doctrine. If you haven’t read it yet, you can easily find a copy or download it. If you have read it, it’s well worth re-reading. Again, the name is Mere Christianity by C. S. Lewis. He wrote many other wonderful books but started with this one. It should be on every Christian’s must-read list.
Another book I consider a classic is Knowing God by J. I. Packer. I’ve read this book three or four times, and I tell you, it has definitely helped me get to know God better. Dr. Packer is a theological professor, but don’t worry—it is written in easy-to-understand and yet very rich words. Let me quote one of my favorite paragraphs—and it was difficult to choose only one, because virtually every page in my book is marked and highlighted:
“There is unspeakable comfort—the sort of comfort that energizes, be it said, not enervates—in knowing that God is constantly taking knowledge of me in love and watching over me for my good. There is tremendous relief in knowing that His love to me is utterly realistic, based at every point on prior knowledge of the worst about me, so that no discovery now can disillusion him about me, in the way I am so often disillusioned about myself, and quench His determination to bless me. There is, certainly, great cause for humility in the thought that He sees all the twisted things about me that my fellowmen do not see (and am I glad!), and that He sees more corruption in me than that which I see in myself (which, in all conscience, is enough). There is, however, equally great incentive to worship and love God in the thought that, for some unfathomable reason, He wants me as His friend and desires to be my friend and has given His Son to die for me in order to realize this purpose.” (P. 37)
Dear friends, this is a book you need to read—more than once. Again, its title is Knowing God by J. I. Packer.
The third book I want to recommend is a tiny book—you can easily read it in one sitting—by a saint of old, Brother Lawrence. He lived in the 17th Century and was a Lay Brother in the Carmelites at Paris. The book is Practicing the Presence of God, and it is a compilation of letters Brother Lawrence wrote to a friend who was asking for guidance. Incidentally, you can download this book at no cost.
Here is one paragraph from one of his letters:
“Pray remember what I have recommended to you, which is, to think often on God, by day, by night, in your business, and even in your diversions. He is always near you and with you: leave Him not alone. You would think it rude to leave a friend alone who came to visit you: why then must God be neglected? Do not then forget Him, but think on Him often, adore Him continually, live and die with Him; this is the glorious employment of a Christian. In a word, this is our profession; if we do not know it, we must learn it.”
Brother Lawrence truly learned to practice the presence of God. And when we begin to learn what it means to bring God into every part of our lives, it is transformational. In another letter, Brother Lawrence wrote:
“Let our employment be to know God: the more one knows Him, the more one desires to know Him. And as knowledge is commonly the measure of love, the deeper and more extensive our knowledge shall be, the greater will be our love: and if our love of God were great, we should love Him equally in pains and pleasures.”
He was a simple man with a simple message—and we need to hear his message today. I strongly encourage you to read The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence.
Next, I want to focus on A. W. Tozer’s book, The Pursuit of God. Tozer was called a 20th-century prophet. He was a pastor in Chicago for 31 years, until his death in 1963. His greatest legacy to the Christian world has been his more than 40 books, and The Pursuit of God is probably his best-known book. I have read it many times, and I know it has given me wonderful food for thought that has greatly enriched my life.
Dr. Tozer closes his chapter on Following Hard After God with this prayer:
“O God, I have tasted Thy goodness, and it has both satisfied me and made me thirsty for more. I am painfully conscious of my need of further grace. I am ashamed of my lack of desire. O God, the Triune God, I want to want Thee; I long to be filled with longing; I thirst to be made more thirsty still. Show me Thy glory, I pray Thee, so that so I may know Thee indeed. Begin in mercy a new work of love within me. Say to my soul, ‘Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away.’ Then give me grace to rise and follow Thee up from this misty lowland where I have wandered so long. In Jesus’ name. Amen.” (P. 20)
This is a short book, and I recommend you read a chapter a day as a devotional. Underline and highlight it and let God speak to you through this 20th-century prophet.
Do you know who Corrie ten Boom is? Her story is found in the book, The Hiding Place, and Corrie was an incredible woman of God who exchanged love and forgiveness for hatred and cruelty in the heart of a Nazi concentration camp.
In her foreword to the latest edition, Joni Eareckson Tada wrote of Corrie’s book:
“For years to come, when I would occasionally fall back into my own pit of fear or depression, the Spirit of God would tenderly bring to mind her (Corrie’s) well-known phrases: “There is no pit so deep that God’s love is not deeper still.” “Only heaven will reveal the top side of God’s tapestry.” And probably the most poignant and powerful of all, simply ‘Jesus is Victor.’”
“You can understand why, when I first met Corrie ten Boom, I was filled with glee. She grasped my shoulder firmly and announced in her thick Dutch accent, “Oh, Joni, it will be a grand day when we will dance together in heaven!” The image she painted of us skipping down the streets of gold left me breathless. I could easily picture the scene of glory and gladness. It made me realize I had survived.”
Corrie went to be with Jesus in 1983. Elizabeth Sherrill, who authored with Corrie this biography of her life, wrote about her first meeting with Corrie:
“We commented to Corrie about the practicality of the things she recalled, how her memories seemed to throw a spotlight on problems and decisions we faced here and now. ‘But,’ she said, ‘this is what the past is for! Every experience God gives us, every person He puts in our lives is the perfect preparation for a future that only He can see.”
Biographies of great people of God are so rewarding and informative. And this story of Corrie ten Boom is one you need to read—and maybe some of us should read it again. You won’t be able to put it down.
One more recent book that I believe will become a classic, Gentle and Lowly by Dane Ortlund. This book helps you see the heart of Jesus in new and moving ways. It is subtitled The Heart of Christ for Sinners and Sufferers. Jesus said he is “gentle and lowly in heart.” This book reflects on these words, opening up a neglected yet central truth about who he is for sinners and sufferers today. This is a book that will bless you and whoever you may decide to give it to. As a matter of fact, I received this book as a Christmas gift two years ago, and it was one of the best gifts I’ve ever had!
As I’ve looked at these books again, I am impressed with the common theme that runs through them all—and that is our great need to know God better and better. Reading these books will help you get there.
Well, I hope you’ll get serious about reading good books, and I highly recommend these I’ve featured: Mere Christianity by C. S. Lewis, Knowing God by J. I. Packer, The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence, The Pursuit of God by A. W. Tozer, The Hiding Place, the story of Corrie ten Boom, and Gentle and Lowly by Dane Ortlund.