The title of this piece sounds like it would be written by one of the giants of the faith, but I’m afraid you’re just stuck with me today.
Today marks the end of twelve months of Christianity 201. The tag line for this blog, “Digging a Little Deeper,” doesn’t actually show on the screen for some reason. (I’ve tried to fix it twice.) There are days when this has been more of a devotional reading blog, and days when I have tried to truly dig a little deeper into scriptures.
Each day has been an adventure.
I started this with the goal of posting my thoughts later in the day; usually around 6:00 PM, Eastern Standard Time. I mention that only because most devotional bloggers put things up in the morning, which is considered the “more spiritual” time of day to do Bible study or meditation. But there are always people browsing search engines later in the day — and also at WordPress — and I wanted to offer some tagged posts that might catch their attention when things are less busy in the Christian blogosphere.
I’ll admit some days the posts have been rather random.
The adventure has consisted in the discovery of the wealth of good reading online. By using search terms like “holiness,” “discipleship,” or even words like “temptation;” I’ve discovered bloggers who have enriched my own spiritual growth.
Of course, in the discovery, I’ve also had to check their previous writings to make sure I wasn’t directing those I considered my readers to something that might be doctrinally questionable. It is a responsibility.
So the process can be exhausting.
I started Christianity 201 because my other blog, Thinking Out Loud, was achieving great success numerically, but often got bogged down in the news of the day. Its top posts have concerned disgraced televangelists, controversial authors, Christian musicians, or the goings on in a big glass church on the west coast. Informative and insightful, but probably more “wood, hay and stubble” in the greater scheme of things.
Christianity 201 was created to be more “gold, silver and precious stones.” More timeless. More lasting. (A good place to pause and ask yourself, “Which type of material characterizes my own spiritual output?”)
Of course, people would rather read the funny stuff, or go searching for the interesting pictures. So T. O. L. has days where it reaches 1,000 readers — not bad for a Christian blog from Canada — and my book trade blog reaches around 120 daily; while C201’s peak days are usually around 40.
That keeps me humble.
I need that.
The adventure has often been exhausting. I’m not sure that I will try in the second year to force myself to have something fresh every single day. But submissions and suggestions are always gratefully received.
So keep reading.
Keep digging a little deeper.
You’ll never exhaust the depth and riches of God’s Word.
~Paul Wilkinson.
Christianity 201 