Daily Devotion – May 11, 2020 – Roy Hammerling
John 21:20-25
“But there are also many other things that Jesus did; if every one of them were written down, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.”
Not Enough Books in the World
The author of John’s Gospel tells us that if all of Jesus’ deeds were written down, the world would not be big enough to hold them. Still, John tried to tell a small portion of that story when he wrote out his small Gospel for the sake of testifying to the truth that had been handed onto him. John tells us in his work that Jesus is the Way, Truth, and Life. Through the ages other writers have likewise sought truth. “Books are the carriers of civilization,” said Henry David Thoreau, “Without books, history is silent, literature dumb, science crippled, thought and speculation at a standstill.” We need good books, because, as an old Spanish proverb says, “Good books are a hindrance to persisting in stupidity.” Mark Twain cautions, “The (person) who doesn’t read good books has no advantage over the (person) who can’t read them.” So, John writes his story in order to point to a great truth, even though he knows his small work is only a fraction of what we need. Perhaps one day, earth will be so filled with good books, that we will need to go to heaven to read them all. Until that time, read on…
Prayer: Gracious God, grant us good writers of good books, testimonies to truth, so we may be set free.
Prayer Concerns: For authors to have the time and wisdom to write good books.
