As a reader, you aren’t an idle spectator but a player on the field.
Your brain engages with the story. Entertainment mixes with learning and inspiration. The story’s theme—a universal truth—resonates with your soul.
Books shape the lives of young and old.
A Divine Appointment in the Cafetorium
As a sixth grader attending McKinley Elementary School, I hated to read.
Reading a story line by line was just too slow. I loved to watch Saturday morning reruns of Rocky Jones, Space Ranger. That black-and-white TV show blasted me into outer space, and like Rocky’s young sidekick, Bobby, I longed to explore the universe.
My sixth-grade schedule included time to read a book. Forewarned by Barton, my year-older (and much wiser) next-door neighbor, I searched for the cool science fiction book he had hidden the year before on the top shelf.
Up on tiptoe, I had a divine appointment in the cafetorium. I found the book that changed my life. The cover glowed with the image of a rocketship similar to the one piloted by Rocky and Bobby. Everything around me faded away as I met strange people, planets, and monsters—a sixth-grader’s dream world. The short stories kept me so focused that the teacher had to remind me twice to put up the book before we changed classes.
Reading had changed my life.
A Divine Appointment in the World
I grew up, but still lived in a world inhabited by strange people, planets, and monsters.
Pressures mounted as an adult with a wife and child. Priorities shifted to getting a promotion and paying the bills. However, it felt as though the world conspired against me getting ahead. With no immediate mentor, I turned to books for help.
In bookstores, I discovered mentors, writers who wrote in voices that helped me advance. Each book gave me a better understanding of business and leadership. A decade and a half later, I had moved up from an entry role to a senior level.
Reading had changed my life again, but I had another problem. In my youth, I longed to explore space. Next, I wanted to get ahead. At this point in life, I desperately wanted peace.
So I kept searching.
A Divine Appointment in the Bible
I came across a book by Zig Ziglar called The Confessions of a Happy Christian.
Zig shared what happened after he accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior. With humor, he told of others who experienced the joy of receiving Christ’s gift.
“When you ‘sell out to Jesus,’ turn your life completely over to Him and give Him total ownership, He will make you like He wants you. The both of you will like you better. You will truly be changed.”
As measured by the world’s yardstick, my life was a success. But had you asked those close to me, they would have told a different story. I had allowed success to write a check that my relationships could not cash.
With Zig’s nudge, I started reading my Bible and accepted Jesus as my Savior. Since then, like a stone to sharpen a knife, each page of scripture hones my life, continuing to shape me into the person Jesus wants me to be.
Reading had changed my life, but reading the Bible saved it.
…and now you know why I’m writing for eternity.
Leave a Reply