To Read Or Not To Read

I read yesterday that one of the major news magazines will no longer offer printed copies.
That magazine will be online only, from now on.
Even though I do not read that particular magazine, I was sad about those changes.

My daughter’s high school is now paperless…with many businesses following suit.
The way we get our information is changing with the onset of tablets and smart phones.
Electronic devices seem to be the method of choice.

One of the best afternoons, when my children were younger, was going to the library.
We had two libraries that we frequented.
One was a small town library in an old historic house that was part of the Underground Railroad.
That one was my favorite since it was small enough for the children to be independent.
The other was our county library, with its large building, and vast selection of books.

The county library had many summer activities centered on reading.
A treasure map activity required the children to log the books they read in a week’s time.
The librarian would stamp their map as they progressed.

When they filled up their map, there was some sort of prize.
A certificate for free ice cream, or lunch at a favorite place.
We would come to the library with our canvas bags.
The children would leave with their own set of books.

We had a special basket in our family room for library books…so none would get lost.
When they got older, they were able to keep the stack of books in their own room.

It was such a wonderful afternoon spent at the library.
We would usually follow the library with a trip to a local park, if it was a nice day.
These sweet times together were invaluable.

I can still remember the card catalog system where you manually searched for a book.
You opened the appropriate lettered drawer and looked through the alphabetized cards.
When you found the one you were searching for, you needed paper and pencil to write down the call number which would help you to locate the book in the library.

Without computers, you had to walk to the shelf to see if the book was there or not.
It took a bit longer, but it was just as effective.

We have fourteen book shelves throughout our home.
Every room we live in has books in it!
I prefer to hold a book, smell a book, turn the pages, underline.

If you look at any of my books, you will soon learn quite a lot about me.
My books are marked up, with notes in the margins…since I refer to them so often.
I can remember where I read something on a page, and easily retrieve it when needed.
I respond to the books as well…sometimes putting NO! next to a thought I disagree with.

I would miss not having books around me.
They make a plain room…warm and inviting.
A comfy chair and a warm blanket…a cup of tea and a book.
You can’t get much better than that!

Today, many people read books on electronic devices.
It is common to download books from the library…have them for a few weeks.
They disappear from your device when your allotted time is up…unless you renew them.
You never even have to go into the library building.

Local book stores, with their coffee shops and over-sized chairs, appeal to our nostalgia.
Even those book stores are changing, with the electronic devices taking over prime retail space as soon as you walk through the front door.

I know that when people travel for business, they find it helpful to download a book rather than carry a hard copy with them.
They can have multiple books taking up very little space.
Even in church, people have their Bibles on devices as well.

We have information literally at our fingertips.
Has that constant access to information helped us know our Lord Jesus better?

Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Go south to the road, the desert road, that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians. This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship, and on his way home, he was sitting in his chariot reading the book of Isaiah, the prophet. The Spirit told Philip, “Go to that chariot and stay near it.” Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah, the prophet.
“Do you understand what you are reading?” Philip asked.
“How can I,” he said, “unless someone explains it to me?”
So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him…Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus. (Acts 8:26-31,35)

In the ancient world, all reading was done out loud.
That is how Philip knew what the eunuch was reading, as he sat in his chariot.
Since Philip heard the passage, he was able to start right there, and explain it.

God’s Word should always be near us!
It doesn’t matter if we hold it in our hand, or read it on one of our devices.
In a fast paced, constantly changing world, it is a comfort to know that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. (Hebrews 13:8)
Our immutable Lord is the Rock we stand on…the Logos…the Word made flesh.

Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.
(John 21:25)

May we always have room for the ONE Book that we need above all else.
The unchanging, inerrant Word of God.
The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the Word of our God stands forever.
(Isaiah 40:8)

 

2 responses to “To Read Or Not To Read”

1. Amen to that, Gina!
   And I agree with you about preferring books to Kindles etc, although I have been known to read something on Kindle– Bill loves the Kindle, nd I have saved $$ by learning to download from the library books for Bill to read, instead of buying downloads from Amazon. I too like to underline etc! If I want to read a book I do buy it from Amazon, in book form, — the difference in price between book and download is generally not much!
   But I do remind myself to keep feasting on The Word as the best “soulfood”!!

   Reply

   • Janna,
     You’re right…no matter HOW you read God’s Word…the important thing is that you read it…or listen to it.
     We do need to saturate ourselves with His perfect, living Word.
     Gina

     Reply