How much is too much?

When I was writing all my many essays way back at university and later at college, it was often a dilemma to work out how much of what I wrote came from my own thoughts and how much from books and articles I had read. I remember one of my college lecturers writing on an essay of mine, ‘Cite your sources!’ in big, red letters. Yet, I thought I had done that via my many quotes and footnotes. Was I fooling myself—and even perhaps trying to fool that lecturer, as I felt he was implying? Or had all that reading I had done in preparation for writing my essay become part of my own thinking?

I thought I had left that dilemma behind years ago now. Yet, in writing my current non-fiction manuscript, a similar challenge has emerged, this time concerning the number of Scripture quotes I include in full. How much is too much? What could I perhaps say in my own words instead, simply citing the relevant Bible reference at the end? And how much Bible content is already present in everything I write from my own heart anyway because of the fact that I have read and reflected on the words of Scripture almost every day for so many years now?

Recently, as I read through my whole manuscript again before sending the final version off to the publisher, I decided to remove a number of Bible verses I had included in full. But then I came to a chapter entitled ‘Words of comfort’, then another entitled ‘Words of peace’—and later, one entitled ‘Words of wisdom’. I believe wholeheartedly in the words I myself have written in these chapters and hope they will encourage many. But surely the greatest source of comfort, peace and wisdom is to be found in God’s Word itself as the Spirit speaks through it into the depths of our hearts?

Then one morning while still pondering this issue, I came to Isaiah 40 during my own time of Scripture reading. And there, among so many other strong, beautiful words, I found the following stirring section:

O Jacob, how can you say the Lord does not see your troubles?
    O Israel, how can you say God ignores your rights?
Have you never heard?
    Have you never understood?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
    the Creator of all the earth.
He never grows weak or weary.
    No one can measure the depths of his understanding.
He gives power to the weak
    and strength to the powerless.
Even youths will become weak and tired,
    and young men will fall in exhaustion.
But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength.
    They will soar high on wings like eagles.
They will run and not grow weary.
    They will walk and not faint. Isaiah 40:27-31 NLT

No, I decided, I could not bring myself to cut out any of these words from this blog—or anywhere else really. They are far too powerful and merciful and comforting. They are God’s very words, piercing our hearts and causing the Spirit to rise up in us to enable us to keep going. So, as I write, I will find space for them—and others like them. Such words can surely never be too much.

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Just an old book?

I recently did something I have been putting off for years. With great regret, I at last steeled myself enough to throw my much-loved and much-used NIV bible I have had since somewhere in the middle 1980s into the bin. In one way, it felt as if I was throwing part of me out along with it. My hands had held that deep red cover so often that a lot of the fake leather had worn off and my fingers had turned some of those pages so much that the corners were ripped, with one or two having disappeared altogether.

Now many might think, ‘Why all that fuss? It’s just an old book!’ And at one level, that is true. After all, it is not the book itself that is sacred but rather the words it contains—and they can be found just as well in my brand-new, more recently translated NIV bible I received at Christmas or in any other bible. And yet … and yet …

You see, that old bible symbolised so much to me in so many different ways. It was my companion through countless amazing times in my life, as well as hugely difficult ones. I carted it with me to all sorts of places—on camps and retreats, away on holidays, to lectures at theological college, to nearby parks to sit and reflect, to places where I spoke. When it finally become too risky to use while speaking somewhere because it threatened to fall apart on me, I let it rest on my desk beside my laptop and bought another copy to take with me instead. And there my favourite, old bible has remained for many years now as I have written several more books and many blogs. I have read it each day, then left it lying open so I could look over at any time and be reminded of what God had said to me as I read. And sometimes that re-read turned into a little prayer, either whispered or spoken aloud—perhaps for perseverance in writing or in preparing a message to speak somewhere or as intercession for someone else.

As well as featuring occasional finger-marked and dog-eared corners, some of the pages of that old bible also contained verses I had underlined or highlighted with a little line at the side. At times, I had even put an exclamation mark beside some words that had particularly impacted me or left a brief comment there in tiny letters. And I had read some passages so often that I could visualise where the words I wanted to find were on the page before I even looked them up—so much so that even my other NIV bible of the same vintage did not seem quite right to me at first.

Yet, I know I will soon become used to this other bible now open on my desk. I am familiar with its wording and will keep my more recent Christmas NIV for speaking somewhere. Whichever bible I use, it is still God’s precious Word that I look forward to exploring again in the year ahead and finding great wisdom and encouragement in its pages. And I hope you do too.

Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path. Psalm 119:105

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