When you started school, you began to learn those essential skills that would prove essential to your existence upon planet earth. As the old timers used to say, the three R’s are reading, writing, and arithmetic. There is much to say about these three subjects; for the sake of time and space, let’s spend a little time talking about reading.
For many today, the joy of reading is a forsaken discipline. There is a lot that can be learned by watching videos, but reading is required if he/she wants to live above the status quo. Leon Gutterman states the main reason one should read, “The reading which counts is the reading which, in making a man think, stirs and exercises and polishes the edge of his mind.” Reading that is worthwhile does, in fact, make a person think. It goes far, far above that, though, because as it impacts the way he/she lives as a result of what was read.
Appropriately, in the last book of the Holy Bible, God exhorts believers to read for a lifestyle change— “Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy, and heed the things which are written in it; for the time is near” (Rev. 1:3). Another word for “blessed” is “happy.” For a Christian to be truly happy on earth requires that he/she do three things which are emphasized in the verse: “reads,” “hear,” and “heed.” Thus, the result is to “heed” or live what you know to be truth. The way that you know what to “heed” to truth is to first “read.” Satan wants to keep you from being a productive Christian, so he tells you that there is no need to act now. The Word of God commands believers throughout Scripture to act now, because “the time is near.”
Start practicing that early subject of reading you learned at the start of your schooling. Read thought provoking material. You are to read, so you can practice. Never forget, “the time is near” to His return.
