Read

It's important to our spiritual well-being that we are carefully considering what we are feeding our spirits - consuming material that does not have the potential to corrupt our spirits.  And, making time
in the Word a priority is key for each of us. Romans 15 states:
4 For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope.
5 Now may the God of patience and comfort grant you to be like-minded toward one another, according to Christ Jesus,
6 that you may with one mind and one mouth glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

When we spend time reading, studying, and meditating on God's Word, it produces a more healthy Christian life.  Our minds are renewed to the truth of the Scriptures, we have clearer direction for our lives because we have accessed the very wisdom of God.  As Romans 15:4 states, we can have patience and comfort in our lives (and don't we need that these days?).  Ultimately, we find hope in Christ as we digest the Word - and it positively impacts our relationships, so that we can walk in unity.

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We can be careful to expose ourselves to material that helps to build us up in our faith and not to pollute our spirits.  The Bible underscores the importance of remembering God's enduring principles. We see in 2nd Timothy chapter 2:
11 This is a faithful saying: For if we died with Him, We shall also live with Him.
12 If we endure, We shall also reign with Him. If we deny Him, He also will deny us.
13 If we are faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself.
14 Remind them of these things, charging them before the Lord not to strive about words to no profit, to the ruin of the hearers.
15 Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

Recently, PBS sponsored a contest to determine what could be considered America's favorite novel.  It was called The Great American Read, and the PBS website describes it this way:

THE GREAT AMERICAN READ was an eight-part series that explored and celebrated the power of reading, told through the prism of America’s 100 best-loved novels (as chosen in a national survey)*

The winners were chosen through audience participation, and the finale revealed the rankings of the various books.  The top 10 included a number of familiar titles, including some that contained some spiritual overtones.  Here is the top 10:
10. Jane Eyre
9. The Chronicles of Narnia series
8. Little Women
7. Charlotte's Web
6. Gone with the Wind
5. The Lord of the Rings series
4. Pride and Prejudice
3. The Harry Potter series
2. The Outlander series (which might be described as the "outlier" series; I have to admit I was not familiar with these books, which deal with time travellers)
and, the top book, no surprise:
1. To Kill a Mockingbird

Certainly, you can make the case for the Narnia and Lord of the Rings books as Christian allegories, by C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien, respectively.   And the recent movie adaptation of Little Women was done by faith-based filmmakers Pure Flix.

In the top 100, there were several other faith-based titles.  One that caught my attention was a book I intend to read, called, Mind Invaders, by Dave Hunt, a Christian apologist and the co-author of a book called, The Seduction of Christianity.  Hunt, who passed away several years ago, as I recall was a fairly regular guest on John Ankerberg's TV show.  The summary of the book, which was originally called, The Archon Conspiracy, states:

Discovering the CIA and Russian Intelligence’s battle for psychic control, famed journalist Carla Bertelli delves into the power behind the Archons. Convinced they are benevolent, she is devastated when Ken renounces the paranormal and embraces Christianity.

Torn between her love for Ken and her contempt for his “demons theory,” Carla plunges into a search for the truth that becomes a desperate race against time...

Again, it's no surprise that To Kill a Mockingbird topped the list.  The Great American Read website states:

A gripping, heart-wrenching, and wholly remarkable tale of coming-of-age in a South poisoned by virulent prejudice, it views a world of great beauty and savage inequities through the eyes of a young girl, as her father—a crusading local lawyer—risks everything to defend a black man unjustly accused of a terrible crime.

To Kill a Mockingbird led The Great American Read voting from the first week, and kept the lead for the entire five months of voting, despite strong competition from the rest of our five finalists.

In considering the faith elements of Mockingbird, my mind went back to a conversation on The Meeting House with Matt Litton, who critiqued the subsequent Harper Lee book published just a few years ago, Go Set a Watchman.  The interview aired in July of 2015.  He had written a book called, The Mockingbird Parables: Transforming Lives through the Power of Story.

In 2010, Litton offered these concepts on the CNN "Belief Blog:"

The many lessons of Lee’s novel can lead us back to a restorative way of making choices by following these four principles:

1. Try understanding others. The theme is revealed in lawyer Atticus Finch’s memorable explanation to his daughter: "You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view–until you climb into his skin and walk around in it."

Litton reminds us:

The Christian faith originated with a God who moved into our neighborhood, who “climbed into human skin and walked around in it,” and who truly understands and connects with humanity.

His other principles:

2. Live in the here and now. Lee’s novel challenges us to remember that our faith should impact our actions today.

Then, his third point is: "3. Embrace and encourage idealism."  Litton writes:

The novel reminds us that cynicism leads to complicity, that disillusionment leads to inaction. Maybe by becoming more like children, we can refuse to accept the status quo and take a closer look at our neighborhood, see the injustice, poverty, and sin for what it is and determine what it requires of us as people of faith.

And, finally:

4. Be guided by faith, not circumstances. Christians could also stand to remember the racism of the “good church going folks” of Maycomb, that the protagonist of the novel calls it a “disease,” and be wary that the same types of religious folks were actually responsible for the crucifixion of our Jesus.

Perhaps we should pause for a moment today to determine if we are allowing our decisions to be guided by status, wealth, or political gain. Maybe we should conduct our daily business guided solely by our beliefs, like the unassuming hero that places his family and his reputation on the line to take a very unpopular court case.

When his daughter asks why he is defending the innocent Tom Robinson, Atticus answers, “Scout, I couldn’t go to church and worship God if I didn’t defend that man.” To Kill a Mockingbird reminds us there is a spiritual approach to making decisions that can lead us to restoration on each street and in every house.

You could certainly make the case that Mockingbird relates some timely and meaningful principles consistent with Scripture, and while not characterized as a blatantly "Christian" book, there are certainly redemptive elements that can speak to us today.

There are several elements which I'd like to hit upon very briefly.  First, we can be selective with regard to what we read.  And, our first priority in reading has to do with God's Word.  If we are to grow in Christ, we have to have exposure to His Word; and as James 1 reminds us, we are to be doers of the Word and not merely hearers, or readers.  We can carefully consider what we are reading in the Scriptures and be attentive to what the Holy Spirit is teaching us.  We can also make reading choices that are consistent with our values and beliefs - and we can be sure to reject material that doesn't line up with God's standards.  Remember, we are feeding our spirits through the entertainment choices we make.

We can be confident that God is directing us and desiring to speak messages to us.  So, we can be careful to be sensitive to seek out, point out, and relate to spiritual truth through forms of entertainment, including books.  We recognize that stories can teach principles.  God will use a number of means in order to teach us and inspire us to abide by principles that are honoring to Him.