Sunday Reading

Last Sunday I urged you to spend your Sundays well – delighting in the Lord and His work in the world, rather than in the distractions and toils of everyday life. Sunday is meant to be something of a weekly slice of heaven, brought down to earth! And one of the ways we can spend it well is by reading – reading the Bible; and reading good Christian books that will encourage us in the Lord. I do hope and pray that many of us will, more and more, become readers! With that in mind, we have a whole slew of newly arrived materials on the PRBC Resource Rack in the church foyer. If you're local, check out these 20+ new books and booklets … and some videos for kids, too!

Additionally, I thought this might be a good time and place to recommend some other books to you as well. And, since we have recently been thinking about the persecuted church; and since I also mentioned, last Sunday, the need to help our children “call the sabbath a delight” as well … this list will have a slant in those two directions.

So then, here are some books worth checking out at the local library, purchasing online*, or ordering through your local Christian bookstore:

The Crown and Covenant series by Douglas Bond (P&R Publishing). These books, written for pre-teens (but excellent for adults, too) follow the adventures, trials, and faith of a fictional Scottish family (the M’Kethe’s) living in the very real period of persecution in the late 17th century in Britain. Each of the three books focuses on a young boy who learns, as the story unfolds, what it means to trust God in trying times, and how to stand for Christ under pressure. Great for family read aloud times!

Fair Sunshine by Jock Purves (Banner of Truth). A gathering together of the true stories of several great saints who lived during (and some who died because of) the great persecution of the Scottish Covenanters (mentioned in the previous paragraph).

The Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan. Written (from prison) during the aforementioned times of trial in Britain, Bunyan’s classic novel is an allegory on the often trying process of coming to Christ, and on following the narrow path in allegiance to Him. One of the great books (Christian or secular) ever written … and available in some abridged versions for smaller children, too.

John G. Paton: Missionary to the New Hebrides (Banner of Truth). This missionary autobiography will whet your appetite for the beauty of the Christian family, the glory of the cause of missions, and the goodness of a God who is sovereign over all life’s twists and turns. Along the way, it will also give you good perspective on the suffering of God’s people – particularly on the mission field. This book is available in the “biography” section of our church library, but is currently checked out!

Singing in the Fire by Faith Cook (Banner of Truth). A gathering together of several mini-biographies of historic Christians who struggled and suffered while (and sometimes for) following Jesus. Several moving accounts of the faithfulness of God are re-told in this excellent little book.

Huguenot Garden by Douglas Jones (Canon Press). Another historical fiction book, in the same vein as the Crown and Covenant series mentioned above … following the story of two young girls and their family during a time of great opposition to the Protestant churches and Christians in 17th century France. I haven’t read this one yet, but hope to have it in hand soon, and to read it aloud together as a family.

The Crook in the Lot by Thomas Boston, my historical hero. This is one of only two books in the list that are not either history or biography (can you tell I love church history?).  The Crook in the Lot is, rather, a series of sermons on Ecclesiastes 7.13 (KJV): “Consider the work of God: for who can make that straight, which he hath made crooked?” Boston expertly works the reader through appropriate, biblical ways to deal with the various sufferings that God allows in our lives. 

The Building on the Rock series by Joel Beeke, Diana Kleyn, and Jeff Anderson (CF4K). This series of five children’s books contains roughly 2-3 dozen brief, real-life stories per book, each of which teaches lessons of faith, courage, obedience, God’s faithfulness, the gospel of Jesus, and so on. These stories are great for children’s own personal reading, and for family read aloud times as well … and each contains a suggested corresponding Scripture reading, and two questions for discussion.

So there you have it. Just a few suggestions for how you and your children might warm your hearts and stir your souls on Lord’s Day afternoons and evenings (and on any other day of the week, too!). May these books and others make for happy, helpful reading!

*Please do remember that, while online retailers do not always collect state and local sales tax, you are still required to pay any applicable state and local tax on internet, through-the-mail, and other purchases for which tax is not collected by the retailer.  In Ohio, this can be done by following the instructions connected with the “use tax” line on your state income tax return.  For residents of other states, consult your state tax office for details. Matthew 22.21.

Under the Sun

I’ve begun reading the book of Ecclesiastes this week. And if I’m not careful, it could drive me to the record store to pick up some of the grunge rock of my teenage years. For the book positively oozes with statements of hopelessness and near despair:

• “All the rivers flow into the sea, yet the sea is not full. To the place where the rivers flow, there they flow again. All things are wearisome.” (1.8-9)
• “It is a grievous task which God has given to the sons of men to be afflicted with.” (1.13)
• “In much wisdom there is much grief, and increasing knowledge results in increasing pain.” (1.18)
• “There is no advantage for man over beast. All go to the same place. Who knows that the breath of man ascends upward and the breath of the beast descends downward to the earth?” (3.19-20)
• “I saw under the sun that the race is not to the swift and the battle not to the warriors, and neither is bread to the wise nor wealth to the discerning nor favor to men of ability; for time and chance overtake them all.” (9.11)
• "Vanity of vanities! All is vanity!” (1.2)

How’s that for encouragement in your daily quiet time?! ‘Your life is meaningless, monotonous, and painful. And the more you understand about it all, the more it hurts. But take courage!  Someday time and chance will catch up to you, and it will all be over.  You’ll die just like the possums on the roadside. And after that, who knows?’

That doesn’t sound like the message of the Bible, does it? It sounds, I say, like some of the rock anthems of my youth ... crying out for real answers to real life, and finding none. And here I find the same sentiments in the black and white pages of the Bible! What gives? How can the Bible talk this way? Why such hopelessness?

Well, the key to understanding the book of Ecclesiastes is to take careful notice of the oft-repeated phrase “under the sun.” Solomon employs the phrase 27 times over the course of the book … and, in doing so, gives us a strong hint as to how the rest of his words should be interpreted. He writes this book only from the vantage point of what can be seen “under the sun.” He writes, in other words, as one who interprets life only by what he can see with his physical eyes; as if there were nothing on the other side of the sun – no heaven; no eternity; nothing beyond what our eyes can see in the world around us. And, observing life from that low vantage point, Solomon is quite realistic about what he sees!

If life is interpreted only based on what may be seen “under the sun”; if what is on the other side is taken out of the equation, then Ecclesiastes is the perfect explanation of our world. It’s really pointless, this life … if viewed only from “under the sun.” If there is no heaven or hell; no eternity in which our struggles will finally make sense; no place of reward for deeds done in righteousness; and no place of torment for acts of sin … well then, as Solomon says, we should all really be overcome with angst and despair.  Grunge, in other words, was an honest assessment of the world ... if viewed only from "under the sun."  That is why it appealed to so many people, I suppose - especially those who saw through the shiny, happy hedonism of so much of American culture.

But, speaking of hedonism, that is the other logical application to all of life's seeming pointlessness and monotony, as Solomon points out in Ecclesiastes.  We either despair because so much of life’s misery and monotony makes no sense when viewed only “under the sun” … or we give ourselves, wholesale, to the American Dream because, well, this life is really all we’ve got. Let us eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die (see 8.15).  Those are the logical conclusions if life is assessed only as it may be seen “under the sun” – either the grunge rock approach, or the bubble-gum pop mentality.

But there is another vantage point, is there not?  Life must not be viewed only from "under the sun."  No!  For, on the other side of the sun is a place where our faithfulness through monotonous days and painful circumstances will be rewarded. On the other side of the sun is a place where so much of life’s misery will finally make sense – not as the unintelligible fractals of a faceless providence, but as part of a loving Father's wise plans for doing us good. And on the other side of the sun is a world of joy that will make earthly hedonism seem like mere child’s play!

The book of Ecclesiastes, though, doesn't spend a great deal of time helping us to look at life through that other-worldly keyhole.  Solomon, old and jaded, is not so much interested in assessing life from the other side of the sun.  And I think that is by God's wise design.  This book of alternating despair and hedonism is meant to startle us, I think.  It's meant to stop us in our tracks ... and to remind us of just how shriveled our souls can become if we start to look at the world only from Solomon's latter-day perspective; if we forget to view our lives from the other side of the sun. 

There is realism in the book of Ecclesiastes, to be sure.  And we should read the book and wrestle with that realism.  We should also recognize that many of our friends and neighbors see the world exactly as Solomon saw it.  Perhaps the book of Ecclesiastes can help us understand and feel compassion toward them.  But let us not adopt Solomon's myopic view of the universe.  Let us not live merely “under the sun,” but for the world beyond it!