Books, books and more books

I am making a little progress on my list of books to be read in 2006. Although I must confess that I added a few more to the list. Since the last time I blogged on this subject, the total amount to be read has been reduced to 58. Still a daunting number but I do love to read, so the only struggle is finding the time to do it.

The last three books I have read were written by Philip Yancey. To quote Chuck Colson, "Philip Yancey is one of the most engaging and convicting writers in the Christian world. Once again he has produced a work with something in it to make everybody mad." He certainly has a way of challenging a lot of my preconceived notions about God and faith and grace. In What's So Amazing About Grace?, his chapter on loving homosexuals as Jesus would was particularly challenging. There are far too many things I could have underlined in this book, but I'll include a little from his chapter on legalism (entitled "Grace Avoidance") here.

"At first glance legalism seems hard, but actually freedom in Christ is the harder way. It is relatively easy not to murder, hard to reach out in love; easy to avoid a neighbor's bed, hard to keep a marriage alive; easy to pay taxes, hard to serve the poor. When living in freedom, I must remain open to the Spirit for guidance. I am more aware of what I have neglected than what I have achieved. I cannot hide behind the mask of behavior, like the hypocrites, nor can I hide behind facile comparisons with other Christians...Jesus proclaimed unmistakably that God's law is so perfect and absolute that no one can achieve righteousness. Yet God's grace is so great that we do not have to. By striving to prove how much they deserve God's love, legalists miss the whole point of the gospel, that it is a gift from God to people who don't deserve it. The solution to sin is not to impose an ever-stricter code of behavior. It is to know God."

The other two books, for those interested, were The Jesus I Never Knew and Reaching for the Invisible God. Actually I'm not finished with the last one yet. But it's very good as well. As the book jacket says, "If you're ready for a spiritual journey that reconciles faith with honesty, start here. Reaching for the Invisible God helps you move from tough questions to a deeper relationship with a God you can trust, love, and live for with all your heart."