Summer reading and a great cloud of witnesses

August 18, 2008
The Great Cloud of Witnesses

I have long been one who loves history, and believes that we are made richer and wiser by learning from others' failures, as well as their successes. And so as a believer, I have found that biographies of the saints are not only enjoyable, but also encouraging to us as we seek models and mentors in our daily walk with Christ.

Hebrews 11 has been called the "hall of Faith" a Bible hall of fame. Verse 4 speaks of Abel who By faith he was commended as a righteous man, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith he still speaks, even though he is dead.

My summer of reading
I have just completed a biography of John Newton (writer of the great hymn Amazing Grace), prior to that I read the biographies of William Wilberforce, J. Hudson Taylor, Mitsuo Fuchida, and Adoniram Judson. And although I need to read Iberia in order to prepare for a short tour of Spain, I really must find my small bio of George Mueller to read as a break from the hefty Michener volume.

Except for the book on Fuchida, the man who led the air attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, and later became an evangelist (book is entitled God’s Samurai), the other books have been about believers who changed their world.
Early this year I found a copy of Prisoners of Hope, Our Story of Captivity and Freedom in Afghanistan in the bookshelf at the Clinica Corban, where I work in Oaxaca. I found myself inspired by the book, but it left me craving another. Back to the bookshelf, Deadline by Randy Alcorn, a riveting Christian whodunit (that is: who done it…aka murder mystery). Suddenly I realized that every gringo on the mission base was reading something other than their Bibles, I guess the hard work in the heat demanded that we rest our minds with entertainment. We began passing books back and forth, and okay, we did the same with DVD’s, but you know, books are more portable, and the pleasure lasts longer!

So back to the topic of the Great Cloud of Witnesses, when I got home I started digging through the mounds of books that Eddie and I have packed away. And then I started putting them on my Facebook iRead. Then I started looking at what others were reading. Then I started ordering them from Amazon (free shipping!)

Okay, back to the topic again! We all have our preferences in books, theology, Christian living, Self help…..I don’t learn that way. I learn from observation and reflection of what I see and hear. Biographies of the saints who have lived their faith in difficult times are my teachers!

My Hall of Faith
Over the years I have learned many things from the biographies I have read.

“No hole is too deep that God’s love is not deeper still” from Betsy and Corrie ten Boon, The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boon

He will sustain us through desperate times, and even in our suffering He will give us the opportunity to know Him as our companion and lover. Evidence Not Seen by Darlene Diebler Rose.

The man who helped form my approach to faith suffered some of the same
emotional struggles I have suffered . Oswald Chambers, Abandoned to God by D. Mc Casland.

God saves some who are so far from faith others would consider them hopeless. I recognized that their humility at having been so low gave God the opportunity to use them in mighty ways. And they never forgot that they were “great sinner(s) and Christ is a great Savior”. John Newton, From Disgrace to Amazing Grace by J. Aitken, and God’s Samurai by G. Prange. These two books also demonstrated by contrast how the believers you surround yourself with effects your effectiveness.

We should chronicle the signs and miracles along our way that demonstrate God’s faithfulness in our own life story. Walking God’s Trail by Steve Saint.

Social justice is part of our commission, and God uses true believers to reform a society. Amazing Grace: William Wilberforce and the Heroic Campaign to End Slavery by E. Metaxas.

Five men gave their lives just so the Waodani (once called the Auca) would be present at the Throne. They chose not defend their lives with guns because they were ready to die, and the savages weren’t. Jungle Pilot by R. Hitt, and Through Gates of Splendor by E. Elliot

The testimonies of these saints have helped form my walk with Christ. These men and women gave their lives; they suffered as I never have. They deemed Christ worthy, and they loved the lost with their very flesh and blood. They call me up from my whining and complaining to be grateful, faithful and true. They pound deeply into my spirit the determination to be like them in one way or another.

Oh, and I almost forgot Gladys Alward, Amy Carmichael, Ann Hasseltine Judson, Sarah Boardman, and most of all Catherine Booth. I have never been much of a feminist, because I have never needed to be. In the church since Christ set us free, neither male or female, the gospel has been advanced across cultural boundries by women, such incredible women!

I encourage you therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Hebrews 12:1