April 30, 2025 - Good Morning! It’s Wednesday, April 30.
The Center Library is in the middle of its Spring Sale - a great event for a great cause. So, for all you book lovers out there, today’s devotion focuses on one of the most famous and most successful novels in history - Charles Dickens’ “A Tale of Two Cities”. It was first published on April 30, 1859.
Dickens had the practice of revealing his books one chapter at a time, one week at a time, in magazines. His faithful readers wouldn’t see the last page of his book until the end of November. But 166 years ago today, they read the first chapter, which begins with, perhaps, the most celebrated opening sentence in literary history. You know it . . .
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair.”
I’ve read Dickens” masterpiece a few times over the years, and that first line never fails to grab me. I enjoy going back and rereading favorite books. Some people think that’s a little strange. But think how many times you’ve watched a favorite movie or TV show. What’s your favorite food? Eaten it more than once? I reread F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby” for the third time in April, in honor of its 100th birthday. My favorite book is “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee. You only have to look at my original copy - worn and dog eared - to know how many times I’ve gone back to visit the world of Scout and Jem and Atticus and Tom Robinson and Boo Radley.
We return over and over to our favorite scriptures, as well, don’t we? How many times have you read the 23rd Psalm? And each time, it gives a fresh blessing. One of my favorite Bible passages is from the 8th chapter of the book of Romans. The literary style that the Apostle Paul uses here isn’t that different from the style of Dickens’ famous first line. You know it . . .
“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? . . . I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
That’s good news for any time.
Meet you back here tomorrow,
David
cindertex50@yahoo.com
