This is going to be another one of those “interesting” updates from Jesse. The primary reason for my writing is not even really to give you an update but rather an assignment.
As Ben and I were in Uganda for Christmas, Nate and Rhoda gave me the gift of a book called Safely Home by Randy Alcorn. It is the best book I have read since…well, since the last good book I read. Seriously, you really need to read it. PLEASE READ IT!! All your friends need to read it. Please give it to them. If you have any trouble finding it or can’t afford it, just let me know and I will find a way to get you as many copies as you need. I really mean that. I have not yet had a chance to check out the website but you may be able to get information or even order a copy by visiting www.epm.org.
I was trying to find an excerpt from the book to give you a small taste of what it is all about but I don’t think it is possible. This book is fiction but not fantasy. It is well-written and follows a story line that makes it difficult to put down…just ask Ben. I was pretty much useless for about five days while I was reading it. Beyond just being good reading, however, it is very accurate to things that are actually happening in the world today and expresses attitudes and perspectives that we all are exposed to and may even feel on a virtually daily basis. In the words of the author, “While many things in this book have actually happened in one way or another, I have made up the story. Still, I have attempted to keep it authentic and true to life in as many details as possible. Nearly all my characters are fictitious. Some are composites of several real people.”
I don’t know what else I can say. I hope you will make the effort to read and be challenged by this book. It challenged me. It has changed the way I look at where I am, what is happening around me…and where I am going. I think you will find yourself looking at life differently after you finish it, too. I hope it will motivate you to consider how you arrange the priorities of your life and what you value. I hope it will drive you live different than those around you…to leave a valuable heritage when you die, because you will die someday…we all will. How will your life be remembered? Have you accomplished anything truly significant?
I will close with a quote from page 347:
“…a good follower of Jesus is like the ox – ready either for the plow or the altar, for service or sacrifice. I do not know what lies ahead on this earth. I do know something greater waits us beyond it. That is what I choose to live for.”
Please read it. Take it to heart. Be challenged. I don’t ever want to be the same…I hope you won’t either.
This is going to be another one of those “interesting” updates from Jesse. The primary reason for my writing is not even really to give you an update but rather an assignment.
