Renewing the Joy of Christian Reading

Why do you read? Do you read to learn, grow, and gain new knowledge? Do you read for pleasure, or does that feel like a luxury you can’t afford? Maybe with the call of ministries and theological studies, you feel like Christian nonfiction is the only option. Yet at the same time, you feel exhausted and weary of those very books.

I’ve felt that way. I had a long list of books I wanted to read, but time felt like it was always sliding through my fingers like dry sand. My bookshelf was stuffed and sagging with solely heavy theology textbooks and Christian living books. Growing up, I adored reading fantasy books, realistic fiction, adventure books, and cozy mysteries. I own every single yellow, hardcover Nancy Drew book. I wrote and read poetry, spewing every teenage emotion into poems on looseleaf. 

Yet when I started Bible college, a shift happened. As I grew in my love for theology and biblical literacy, I believed fiction and poetry were a waste of my time. With so many thick books to get through, I couldn’t afford to lose any of my precious moments to something “frivolous.” Once I had my first child, time seemed to escape me even more.

With all these pressures, the pleasure of reading dissipated. Reading felt like a chore rather than enjoyment. And when the flames of suffering began to burn at my ankles, theology texts and Christian living books felt unfeeling and cold. I recoiled from my bookshelf. I needed a change. I needed to renew the joy of reading all types of books in my life without feeling ashamed. Even more, I needed someone to tell me the old, beautiful truths of God in a different way.

But before that, I had to realize how, by God’s grace, there’s truth, beauty, and goodness in many genres of writing.

Continue reading at Modern Reformation.