One BIG Value of Long Novels

Many times when a long novel like War and Peace, Don Quixote, or Les Miserables is brought up, the first response is something like "Wow; long book!" or "Way too long for me!" But once you've read and enjoyed a long novel, I think that you're less likely to respond that way. One reason why is that long novels inherently give you a better chance to know the characters deeply. While that's possible, say, in shorter works like Of Mice and Men and The Death of Ivan Ilyich, it's even more likely in a long novel. By the time one finishes Les Miserables, s/he has gazed long and deep into the soul of Jean Valjean, Cosette, Marius, and even Javert. Yes, these big books demand more of your time, but a carefully selected long novel can yield big dividends to your soul and even your spirit. I'm on the last stretch of Dostoevsky's Brothers Karamazov, and this novel has not only educated me about Russian life in the late 1800's, but it's also stirred my soul and given me some spiritual insight and refreshment through its theological content (thank God for Alyosha--what a balance he provides to the carnal Dimitri and skeptical Ivan!).

I hope that this note is an encouragement for you to tackle some long, wholesome novel you've been thinking about reading. Allegories like Pilgrim's Progress and epic poems like Paradise Lost and The Divine Comedy count too! If you'd like some recommendations, please let me know, though I've dropped several hints already :).

Disclaimer: Since novels are books of the world, there may be parts that are unsavory. I was horrified by one chapter in Brothers Karamazov, for example ("Rebellion"), and although that was the author's intent--to show how warped Ivan's skepticism could be--one could skip several pages of lurid material and not "miss" anything.

Peter, Paul, and What Constitutes Scripture

The leader of the kingdom church, Peter (Mt. 16::17-19) affirms that certain epistles that Paul, the "masterbuilder" of Christ's body (1 Cor. 3:10), wrote were scripture (2 Peter 3:15-16). Conversely, Paul affirms that writings from the kingdom church were scripture. Note 1 Tim. 5:18--"the labourer is worthy of his reward"--which is citing Luke 10:7, Mt. 10:10, or both! Both churches (kingdom church or "little flock"; church which is Christ's body) affirm that the other is producing inspired scripture (2 Tim. 3:16) and therefore approved of God.

Addendum: Christ is the ultimate foundation of both churches (Mt. 16:18, 1 Peter 2:6; 1 Cor. 3:11, Eph. 2:20), but each church has a chosen, individual builder God works through to begin and lay plans for its superstructure. 

• Peter receives the revelation of Jesus as the anointed king of Israel (Mt. 16:16-17) and the  "keys to kingdom of heaven" through the kingdom gospel: the "blueprint" for the kingdom church. 

• Paul receives the revelation of Jesus the Saviour of "all men" (1 Tim. 2:1-6, 4:10) and "the mystery" (Rom. 16:25) of the body of Christ (Eph. 3:1-9), which is entered by believing the gospel of grace (1 Cor. 15:3-4, Gal. 1:11-12, Eph. 3:6). This final verse, gently shown to me by a mid-Acts minister, showed me that no one could enter the body of Christ before Acts 9, when Paul received the revelation of his gospel, the sole means of entering that body according to Eph. 3:6. Hallelujah! One verse from Paul is sometimes all it takes to settle doctrinal disputes. Examples: How do we give under grace? See 2 Cor. 9:7. Are there still "healers" today? See 2 Tim. 4:20. Will the body of Christ see antichrist? See 2 Thes. 2:4 (no; can't have two temples of God at once; 1 Cor. 3:16). Is self-defense permitted? See Rom. 12:18. Can we eat pork? See 1 Tim. 4:4. And many more...

Hope that some or all of these thoughts have been helpful. May the Lord bless you as you "give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine" till Christ comes (1 Tim. 4:13).