I discovered Stephen Meader when I was in fifth grade. My school library had several of his books which I quickly gobbled up. Decades later I began to collect them. It was an almost impossible task until the advent of eBay. Today was a rainy day. It was a perfect day to take one off the shelf and be eleven again. As my hands opened the book and the smell of aged paper and ink filled my nostrils, I was with an old friend. Sinking deep into my reading chair I traveled back to another time and relived the experience of a young boy in early America.
Old books are like old friends. They warm us with life. As I read the last page and once again closed the cover I wondered if reading the Gospels produced such wondrous nostalgia. I concluded that for me they do not. Instead of filling me with memories, John, Matthew and Paul fill me with incredible thoughts of a glorious future. Instead of reminiscing about times past I want to travel to what is yet to come. In John Jesus tells us that we can right now step over from death to life. In Matthew Jesus challenges us to grow into His likeness. Paul tells me that God wants us to be saved so forever He can shower us with grace and gifts of love.
I find reading books from my childhood fill me with memories; reading Scripture fills me with excited anticipation that the best is yet to come and once there, the best will still be yet to come. Scripture is about our future. Scripture is reading a travel brochure. Scripture is our ticket to endless adventures.
Written by Roger Bothwell on September 23, 2011
Spring of Life Ministry, PO Box 124, St. Helena, CA 94574
Rogerbothwell.org