Good Advice To Readers

“We need intimate knowledge of the past… something to set against the present, to remind us that the basic assumptions have been quite different in different periods. A man who has lived in many places is not likely to be deceived by the local errors of his native village… and is in some degree immune from the great cataract of nonsense that pours from the press.”  C.S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory and Other Addresses (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, seventh edition, 1977), pp. 50-51.

 “It is a good rule, after reading a new book, never to allow yourself another new one till you have read an old one in between,” he noted. “The only palliative is to keep the clean sea breeze of history blowing through our minds, and this can be done only by reading old books.”  http://www.doggieheadtilt.com/immunization-shots/

 

An unholy hole!

The Hole In Our Gospel, Richard Stearns, Thomas Nelson.

 The President of World Vision has written a mind-gripping, heart-engaging story of the staggering need among the poor of the world.  He has also reminded us of God’s sovereign preparation of a servant to lead an organization raised up to address such needs.  

God delights in taking the least of these to confound the mighty, while at the same time enlisting the mighty to minister to the least.

It was refreshing to read this book without being subjected to manipulation via the use of guilt and pity.   The facts speak for themselves.

 Oft times we are simply staggered by the magnitude of the challenge in comparison of what little we might be able to do!   The stories relating the impact of “…a cup of water in Jesus’ name…” immediately illustrate what can be done with even the widow’s mite.

I especially appreciated the absence of a Utopian scheme.  This is not to diminish the imperative to serve, but to enable us to maintain our balance.  The poor will always be with us…to serve as a thorn in our flesh!

As I neared the end of the book I thought, “Lord, we need a Lazarus laid at the feet of each of us!”

Ministries like World Vision are far more effective than governmental programs and surely deserve our support.