A Few of My Favorite Things

Chocolate or vanilla? Fall or spring? Christmas or Thanksgiving? We’ve all seen these posts on social media. “How well do you know me?” That phrase highlights these posts, and our friends go through the questions meant to prove how much they know about us. Of course, turn about is fair play. So, they repost it to see if we know them as much as they know us.

While fun, these quizzes don’t really give any indication as to how well we are known. Each answer has a fifty-fifty chance of being correct. Even strangers could easily come out seeming to know a lot of little facts about your likes and dislikes. Personally, I prefer chocolate, fall, and Christmas. Those are just a few of my favorites.

Another favorite  is the book The Still of Night by Kristen Heitzmann. I love all of Heitzmann’s books. Her style of writing fits my style of reading. But this book is special. This book fleshed out the story of my all-time favorite character, but it is more than that. This book contains life. Real, messy life. The heroes have flaws, just like me. They have deep sorrows and regrets. They struggle to find God’s truth in the middle of it all. Their faith is not perfect. Their lives are not perfect. Their questions are questions I have asked myself. The message of this book means something to me and challenges me in my faith.

Knowing my favorite season or book doesn’t really let you know who I am. It tells you only the superficial facts. You know me a little more by knowing why I love my favorite book, but you still don’t fully know who I am. To know that takes time and effort. It takes seeing me in various settings. It takes having conversations with me.

The same is true of God. We can know a lot of facts. We can know the Sunday School stories. We can know the books of the Bible. We can know these things and still not know Him in a personal way. To really know God and know His heart, we have to spend time with Him. We have to listen to Him.  Time spent in scripture and prayer is time well spent. As we come to know God more, we can become more of who He designed us to be. Paul summed it up in Colossians 1:9-10 when he said, “For this reason also, since the day we heard of it, we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.”  Knowing God allows us to know God’s will. Knowing God’s will lets us live God’s way.

By the Book: I’ve shared my favorite Christian book with you. Now, as I said before, turn about is fair play. So, I ask you to do me a favor. Help me choose my next books to review by posting your favorite Christian book in the comments section. You can even share a little of what makes it your favorite.