With the beginning of a new school year comes the chance to start on a blank slate. For many of us, it’s a time to decide what kind of people we want to be for the next nine months. We’ve all promised ourselves that this will be the year we’ll get our lives together. We’ll be more organized, get better grades and make new friends. Since we’re all human here, chances are we won’t achieve most of the tasks on our “Blank Slate List,” but hopefully one thing all of us have decided to achieve this year is a higher level in our relationship with God.
This is something that’s easier said than done. Once you fall into a spiritual rut, it’s difficult to shake things up. However, I’ve found the one thing that best sheds new insight into my relationship with God can be as simple as a good book. Here are a few that have changed my life.
Mere Christianity
by C.S. Lewis
I could probably write an entire book about the ways C.S. Lewis has changed my life. His inspiring works have left me speechless, crying on the floor, clutching a book to my chest, but none of them have quite changed me like his book “Mere Christianity.” Originally written as ten minute segments to be aired on the radio, “Mere Christianity” strips away the complications of interpretation and denomination and makes it about Christianity—nothing more, nothing less. Lewis uses simple analogies and metaphors to convey sophisticated philosophies in a way that anyone can understand. Every time you read and reread, you’ll discover some new gem you hadn’t seen before. Anyone who’s searching for the truth must pick up this book.
Love Does
by Bob Goff
Before I left Tennessee for summer break, a friend recommended “Love Does,” to me. Skeptical as I was, I purchased it and brought it home with me. As I began reading it, I realized it was a book that was even better when shared, so I started reading it out loud to my family during our after-dinner worships. The stories that Bob Goff tells in his book left us teary-eyed from laughing, but more importantly, each caper from his hilarious, adventure-filled life left us with an important message about what love does, and what role God has to play in that love. It is witty, triumphant, funny and thought-provoking, but most importantly, it will leave you with a lesson about life you didn’t know you needed to learn.
Maranatha
by Ellen G. White
Of course I couldn’t end this article without talking about good ol’ Mrs. White. My grandfather gave me a copy of her book Maranatha for Christmas two years ago, and I promised him I would read the daily devotionals every day for a year. As begrudgingly as I made this promise, I found the book’s lessons to be timeless and fueled by Scripture.
True story: I was once detained in a Puerto Rican airport for carrying too many books. Maranatha was one of them, and as the lady searching my bags pulled it out, she stopped and pointed at E.G. White’s name on the cover. “You know her?” she asked. I told her very quickly that I did not personally know Ellen White, but that I had read quite a few of her books. She smiled, put Maranatha back in my bag and said, “I’m an Adventist too. Have a nice day.”
Needless to say, I discovered that day that the merits of carrying E.G. White’s books with me stretch beyond my wildest imagination.
College can be a stressful time, and a lot of us might feel too busy for leisurely reading. However, I believe that God tries to reach us through literature, so for anybody looking to add something new into their spiritual lives, I recommend finding a good book centered around God.
