Reading as You Grow - 08 & 09
Just Stick to Your Knitting
Thankfully, God takes time to prepare elders. Indeed, it takes multiple decades of experience walking with Him daily for a man to serve as a resource for others. God will help His future office-bearer to raise children, love a wife, experience hardship, pay his bills, etc.
Martin Luther said, “One learns more of Christ in being married and rearing children than in several lifetimes spent in study in a monastery.”
And so, if the younger man “sticks to his knitting,”1 as he cares for his household, and grows and reads a little here and a little there as he goes, by the time he is 40 or 50-years old, he will have read and reasoned over many, many books, articles, sermons, and the like. But more importantly he will have lived to apply what he has learned in order to love God better in life’s circumstances. He will have learned, better, how to set his mind on the Spirit instead of his sinful nature.
So read at night once the children are in bed. Spend 30-40 minutes before you and your wife lay your heads down together. Or maybe the morning hour is better. I would refer to this time period as devotional time. I suggest you read and pray: the Bible in front of you with a commentary or two. Ask your pastor – or some other godly man you respect – to suggest a book of the Bible and a couple of good commentaries. (I tend to read more from older commentators of the Protestant persuasion – those dating from one hundred to five hundred years ago, but there are some solid modern commentators as well.)
However, I also believe it is important to read an additional book here and there in the midst of your day. Alongside of the Bible and commentaries, read books on topics that might serve you in your current stage of life. After all, we are learning about God and how to love Him as we go. Or read one that covers a topic of great interest to you at the moment. We learn quicker when we are trying to figure something out. Stand-alone articles on topics can also help you gain some perspective on a subject. However, like most heavy lifting, a whole book or two or more will likely be necessary to become “trained” on a thing.
1 This is a phrase often used by Dr. Gary North. I have always loved the phrase.