Two thousand three hundred fifty-three. As close as I can tell, that is the number of pages I read in books written by Christian authors in 2010. Among those books were the best: Fearless by Max Lucado, Forgotten God by Francis Chan, Radical by David Platt, and Life Together by Dietrich Bonhoeffer.
The simple yet profound messages of just those four books would take the rest of my life(and probably much longer) to implement as a lifestyle . But for me that was not enough; so I read more and more and more throughout the entire year. As a matter of fact, in December I found myself planning out and even accumulating the books I wanted to read in the coming year.
Fortunately, however, a light came on; prompted by an illustration that I had read(somewhere) in all of those pages.
Members of a football team's practice squad get to do just that...practice. They practice a whole lot as a matter of fact. Very rarely, if ever though, do they get the chance to play in the real game. But they do practice a lot though...
As I was reading through those hundreds of pages last year, I found myself visualizing(practicing) 'being in the real game'. But that was not enough...I needed more 'practice'. So, I read another 'playbook', then another, and another.
Just one more angle; one more twist; another new aspect of our spiritual walk . . .
But thanks be to God; for through His Spirit, He informed me clearly, "Lee, you have had enough practice for the time being. Go, get in the game"!
Really? Yes, really!!!
I am reminded of something Shane Claiborne realized about his walk, then shared in Irresistible Revolution. When he and his college friends began living out(on the streets of Philly) what they had been reading all along in the Scriptures, he said, "The Bible came to life for us there . . .now the words jumped off the pages"(page 48).
So, my resolution for 2011 is this: very little, if any, reading outside the lines; and a whole lot of 'living' between the goal lines!!!
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