Years ago, someone gave me a book called “Future Grace,” by John Piper. For those of you who’ve read it, you know – it’s no small book. I tried to get through it, but it was way too much for me. So I put it up high on my shelf behind all of the other books waiting to be read.
It was probably about a year later when volunteering at the Passion Conference in Atlanta when John Piper was going to be one of the key note speakers, and I thought… Oh, this will be when all the college students take a break, run back to their rooms, or grab lunch. They won’t want to hear John Piper.
Boy, was I ever wrong. That’s not at all what happened. In fact, they couldn’t get into the building fast enough. They scrambled to get as up close as they could. They waited, literally on the edge of their seats. Out of their backpacks came the notebooks and pens, and I watched as 80,000 college students leaned in, and took copious notes. Not one empty seat inside the Georgia Dome that evening, and I snapped the photo above.
Wait, what? They “get” John Piper? What am I missing? So I leaned in along with the students, and remember thinking that I probably should pull that book back off the shelf and try reading it again. I was blown away by his sermon that day.
Later, Louie Giglio encouraged the students, telling them that they should never settle for what’s in front of them, for what they already “get,” but should always be reaching a little higher on the book shelf. He said that was why people like John Piper were asked to come speak to the college students.
I went home and I got that book back off the shelf. It took me a long time to get through it, and there were many chapters I had to read multiple times. His books haven’t necessarily become easier to read over the years, but they’ve definitely become more valuable to me. And who cares if it takes me six months to read a good book? There’s no need to rush through wisdom. And so, for the past decade or so now, I’ve been hooked on everything John Piper. He’s one of my go-to’s when I have any theological questions.
Now, more than a decade later, I find myself unexpectedly much busier as an empty nester than I ever thought I would be, with less time to read. I still love a good book, but have thought a lot over the past year about the importance of intergenerational relationships, especially since I really do want to be a godly influence on my grandchildren. I want them to remember that when they wanted to ask a question about Jesus, they could ask their Gummy. And I always want to challenge them too, to reach up higher on the book shelf.
Last week our 8-year-old Lyla was sitting in the back seat as I drove her home, and she asked me what it meant that Jesus was betrayed. She wanted to know what the word “betrayed” meant. I know that hearts can’t smile, but I can also promise you mine defied all odds, and it did. It surely smiled from chamber to chamber.
I won’t ever forget Louie telling those college students to always reach higher on the book shelf. I understand what he meant by that, so I recently did a thing. I called a sweet woman I know at church who has been a Christian a lot longer than me. I told her that she was one of three women who immediately comes to my mind whenever I’m questioning something I want to say, or do, or even think! And, I asked her to mentor me. I did!
We talked about what that would look like, how we’d go about it, and what each of our expectations would be. We prayed about it for a couple of weeks, and agreed to work through a discipleship book called, “Growing Together,” by Melissa Kruger. (Link for book is below).
Now we meet at times we agree upon, share a meal, catch up, pray, and then go through the book’s discussion questions. We do some giggling, we shed some tears, and she challenges me in a way that feels as if I’m reaching up a little higher on a book shelf. I’ve always felt challenged by what Louie said, and the older I get, the less I want to spend any time at all having mundane conversations about meaningless junk, so his advice has been like a golden nugget for me.
If you’re still breathing, I want to challenge you to take Louie’s advice, too. There’s a lot of wise folks sitting in the pews on your left and right, as well as in front of and behind you on Sundays. Why would we read books to gain wisdom from people who’ve sat in pews 100 years ago, and not tap into the wisdom two feet away from us today? Get on those tippy toes and ask someone to disciple you, to be your prayer and accountability partner, or your mentor. I put a link to Melissa Kruger’s book below.
Let’s get serious about helping one another run this race and finish well. See ya at the finish line, Sister!
“As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.” Proverbs 27:17 NIV
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