A Massive Read

 Jess Little Sr. is a retired pastor friend of mine. He is 78 and still preaches every chance he gets. I never knew anyone personally who owned more books than he did. Thousands. He invited me to preach in his church numerous times. I used to sit in his office admiring all those books. I confess I coveted some of them. When he retired, he blessed me with thousands of those books. They are priceless to me. Not just because many of them are out of print, but more importantly because he gave them to me. He has been like a father to me for several decades. 

He is always recommending new books to me. He recently told me about this book I just had to get a copy of for myself. Little did I know that book was a mere 850 pages of heavy theological treatise. Months back he purchased a book for me written in the 1600's. That little book of 656 pages was considered one of the most influential books by Leonard Ravenhill who was one of my spiritual heroes. I have not read that one. Now a book of 850 pages! Daunting to say the least. 

I am more used to tackling books of 150-200 pages. On some occasions, I might wade through a biography or autobiography of 300 plus pages. I cannot say I have ever attempted to read a book of 850 pages. The book is called Theology for Today  by Elmer Towns. I started plowing through it and made it all the way to page 14. Only 836 more to go. 

I love to read. One of the last things I do each night before going to bed is to read. Typically I fall asleep trying to get through a chapter. I am not a fast reader. I wish I read faster. I am a plodder. I plod through books a little at a time. Typically I am reading several volumes at the same time. I start one and get bored and then move onto something else and then go back to the original book. 

I determined recently to finish all the books I started before moving on. I finally whittled it down to one  and now this massive hardback. I have never read anything that massive before. I did once read a book of 813 pages over the course of several years, but skipped a few chapters that did not interest me. 

I used to gut out each book I started from start to finish even if my mind wandered in the middle of it. It was a competitive goal to finish. I have a new motto. LIFE IS TOO SHORT TO READ A BORING BOOK. There are so many great ones to be digested. 

I am no intellectual giant. Many times I have shied away from deeper books that make you think. It is work to comprehend these printed publications. Well, I am not getting any younger. There is still so much to discover. So I am tackling this massive read. I am sure I will put it down from time to time for something easier and lighter. I am resolved that I will read it. ALL OF IT. Even if it takes me the rest of my life. I may drown in that sea of words. I am sure I will be over my head before long. It will be good for me. A way to exercise and stretch the mind. A way to challenge my soul. In the end, I hope it brings me closer to the God I love.