Journey (Part One of Many)

I am on a journey.  A journey of finding my place in God's big story.  I want to discover what the Ephesians 2:10 means for me personally.  What good works was I created to do?  Why did God choose to breathe life into Charlie Hodsdon? 

As I have moved along this journey I have become persuaded that whomever it was that shared the following tid-bit was on to something: "5 years from now you will be the same person you are today except for the people you have met and the books that you have read."   (If I knew where the quote originated, I would give credit where it is due.)

I am entirely grateful for those who have taken the time to share their experiences in books, so that I can learn vicariously, and I am even more indebted to those who have taken the time to share their lives with me so that I can learn from their wisdom.  But I am also convinced that this observation about people and books, is, when taken in isolation, only half right. 

Without the Bible as my filter, I am not sure I would have taken the next step, but James 1:22 we read, "Be doers of the word, not hearers only, deceiving yourselves."  It is not enough just to read books or have experiences with interesting people, you must internalize the lessons learned, and put them into action, otherwise you are merely accumulating knowledge.  "Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up."