Red Letters By Tom Davis

One of the advantages of being sick is being able to get some quality reading time in. Seriously. I've read 2 books in 3 days. (Of course, that is not including the 20 or so children's books I've also read in that time.)

Anyways. Let me tell you a bit about one of the two. I just started and finished the book pictured on the left, Red Letters by Tom Davis. It was good. When I say I just started and finished it, I mean this: I went to my room after supper tonight, opened the book, and read it cover to cover in one sitting (minus a brief pause to take a phone call from Sam).

Turns out the book was not only about taking what Jesus says seriously, it was particularly about taking Jesus seriously in regards to the AIDS pandemic in Africa. That in our globalized generation, everyone is our neighbor and should be treated as such. That is, with love and compassion. Dude. That's a lot of neighbors.

The book was good though. A bit redundant in relation to other things I've read recently on the AIDS front, and consequently a bit simplistic for me, but good nonetheless. So far it's the only book I've read that really explores the African AIDS pandemic from a Christian perspective. If you know of any others, I'm interested in hearing about them.

Finally, here are some red letters from the Good Book...

"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Enter, you who are blessed by my Father! Take what's coming to you in this kingdom. It's been ready for you since the world's foundation. And here's why: I was hungry and you fed me, I was thirsty and you gave me a drink, I was homeless and you gave me a room, I was shivering and you gave me clothes, I was sick and you stopped to visit, I was in prison and you came to me.' Then those sheep are going to say, 'Master, what are you talking about? When did we ever see you hungry and feed you, thirsty and give you a drink? And when did we ever see you sick or in prison and come to you?' Then the King will say, 'I'm telling the solemn truth: Whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, that was me—you did it to me.'" -Matthew 25:34-40, The Message