The Test of Time

It was a little more than fifty years ago that I was encouraged to get a copy of "My Utmost for His Highest."   While the author of the devotional material is Oswald Chambers, it was his wife who put the readings together in book form more than a hundred years ago.   When I picked it up and started my journey through its pages for the first time, I had no idea it would be a spiritual companion for the rest of my life.  Though there have been periods of time when my undisciplined spirit took over, the words have shaped my spiritual journey in unimaginable ways.    

One of the things I have come to understand about myself is that older writers seem to speak to me in a way unlike contemporary writers.  Reflection reminds me this tendency is nothing new.  As a young man starting out on the journey of faith, books considered to be spiritual classics found their way to the shelves where books were kept.  "Pilgrim's Progress"  by John Bunyan became a keeper.  Books by E. Stanley Jones, the writings of John Wesley, and the sermons of Charles Spurgeon found places as well.    

One of the things these authors and writings have in common is that they have stood the test of time.  They were not only read in the day they were written, but they have had a way of transcending the stigma of contemporary to become writings of spiritual value for later generations.  Writings do not lose their value simply because they are old.  Some older writings have proven themselves to have such guiding power that it seems they are surely inspired by the Spirit.  It would be a shame to live a life and miss some of these great spiritual giants simply because they do not live in the current day.