5 Books That Moved Me in 2023
Here are 5 books that made an impression on me in 2023.
The Whole Christ
by Sinclair Ferguson
There are very few books I recommend every Christian read, and this is one of them. Sinclair Ferguson attacks legalism and antinominianism with pastoral care and insight. After reading this book, my chronic battle over assurance and legalism vanished.
Before you read it, you should know that it does get technical at times, but be patient. Your patience will be rewarded as he reveals that legalism and antinominianism have the same root, but they also have the same cure: the whole Christ applied to the whole man.
Here is a quote from the book:
“This full and free offer of Christ, this dissolution of the heart bondage that evidences itself in both legalism and antinominianism, this gracious obedience to God to which our union with Christ gives rise as the Spirit writes the law into our hearts — this is still the marrow of the gospel for us all. It is so because the gospel is Christ himself, clothed in its garments.”
Richard II
by William Shakespeare
This year I began the practice of reading aloud 1 page of Shakespeare a day. First, I began with Henry V then read Richard II, to which I was astonished. Reading this work aloud opened my eyes to the deep caverns of Shakespeare. Richard II showed me the mystery of his intertwining the plot with meter and poetry.
This historical play recounts the downfall of wicked and tyrannical Richard II and the rise of noble Henry IV. It displays how the mind ensnares and entices tyrants who make rampage on the innocent, but still shows how evil men come to ruin and the righteous are delivered. The play is a classic example of Shakespeare’s medieval cosmology.
In reading it there are many faints and echoes of Psalm 37. If you want to start reading Shakespeare aloud, this is an easy one to start with.
Remembering
by Wendell Berry
This is the most moving work in Berry’s fictional Port William series that I have read yet. What a timely read for me when I suddenly moved from Alabama to Texas! It let me know that what I was, and still am, feeling about longing for home is natural and good.
In this installation of the series, the beloved Andy Cayley finds himself with only one, in San Francisco as a reporter on new farming practices. The novel deals much with place, community, and traditional living. I have never read a novel where the feelings of the main character was what I felt at the time of reading it.
Answers to Prayer
by George Mueller
To see the faithfulness of God in extraordinary ways impressed on my soul a new sense of trust in the Lord. This book has changed how I pray forever. I recommend that those who find prayer difficult should read this book. The difficulty in prayer, I have found, arises not from a lack of knowledge of what to pray for, but a lack of trust that you may pray so specifically.
George Mueller never asked anyone for a donation to the orphan houses. For the last 30 years of his life he never took a salary, he always relied on God to give him what was needed. He prayed in an estimated $250 million in today’s currency.
This book lists what he prayed for and how the Lord answered. Even after the Lord blessed him with money for the orphan houses, Mueller still struggled with discouragement. He prayed for encouragement and the Lord provided.
King Lear
by William Shakespeare
This may be the greatest writing in the English language, outside the King James Bible. I have not read Hamlet or Macbeth in several years, so I suppose may be a victim to recent bias here. But this great work is captivating nonetheless.
King Lear, a foolish and conceited regent, abdicates the throne and hosts a contest amongst his three daughters to see who loves him the most. The winner of the contest gets the largest portion of his kingdom. His youngest daughter, Cordelia, does not participate, believing the contest is nonsensical. This enrages Lear and leads to Cordelia’s banishment. Ensues betrayal, greed, disorder, blindness, and the killing of the truth.
The most striking scene is in the middle of the play, after Lear has been run off by his two eldest daughters, and he is caught in a storm in the middle of the wilderness. He is there with his Fool, the one person who can tell Lear the truth, but only in the form of jokes. The King in his folly stands in the midst of the storm, barking orders at it, believing that he can control nature, and strips makes after considering it better to live in man’s barest form.
The play is truly remarkable.
