Shepherd of the Hills--Thoughts To Ponder!

Some months ago a young sister in Christ brought me a book and suggested that I might like the story. She told me that had become motivational in her life, so I said that I would be happy to read it. And I put it in my "To Be Read List," but somehow it didn't come to the top for a while.

When I eventually read the first few pages, I was not intrigued. And though I hate to not complete a book once I have picked it up, I could only make myself read a few pages each day. I couldn't connect with the story, couldn't figure out where it was headed. So it has taken me nearly 2 months to read the 300 pages. And now I'm very glad that I stuck to it and discovered the treasure.

The book is The Shepherd of the Hills, by Harold Bell Wright. It was published in 1907, and was even made into a movie starring John Wayne. I cannot believe that I have not seen a John Wayne movie. But it is probably good that I have not, because it probably would have affected the impact of the book for me. The story is about a man from the city that goes into the Ozarks because of grief that has come into his life. We don't discover until later that he was a preacher who had been skillful in the pulpit and knowledgeable in the ways of religion. But he had not really known the God he served.

Very near the end of the book there is a paragraph that I want to quote here so that it can be pondered, especially by those of you who are committed to your religion.

"We build temples and churches, but will not worship in them; we hire spiritual advisers, but refuse to heed them; we buy Bibles, but will not read them; believing in God, we do not fear him; acknowledging Christ, we neither follow nor obey him. Only when we can no longer strive in the battle for earthly honors or material wealth, do we turn to the unseen but more enduring things of life; and with ears deafened by the din of selfish war and cruel violence, and eyes blinded by the glare of passing pomp and folly, we strive to hear and see the things we have so long refused to consider."

Since completing the book, I have wondered what Providence caused the young woman to see in me that prompted her to hand me the book. Perhaps I need to spend some time in the hills.