Discover YOUR Research Interest and Make Your Impact. . . Keep Reading the Signs!

One aspect of Logos Bible Software that I love the most is that the "Piggy Bank of Reading Plans" (see the post) operates on the principle of "Compounding Interest"! How so? Glad you asked (and it has nothing to do with money!)

I love the fact that all of my books can  be added directly to my laptop: where it takes no space in my house, it takes no effort to sift through them, and makes no problems to set reading plans for all of them where I can read any book in just a small portion every day, and finish entire volumes in weeks! What a difference this tiny application has made in my understanding, awareness, and depth of knowledge in such a short time! It's no wonder the Greeks were so smart--all they had was books with no television!!

Psychology has proven that increasing your knowledge does more than just add a piece of previously unknown material--it effects every other piece of knowledge you already have around it! and thereby changing the way you now see each of those pieces, starting a domino effect in your life. Here's a good example--a man named Timothy in the deep woods of North Carolina has never experienced conventional schooling--no reading or writing. Timothy loved hunting deer and boar with his bow and arrow, traveled back to town and, being drawn by the picture of money above the door, walked into the local pawn shop and sold the hides for a modest sum. All the while, wondering what the rest of the buildings were that he passes by everyday, but keeping his interest in the one that pays him. One day on his way through town, he meets a beautiful girl, they fall in love, and she finally teaches him how to read. He took it reluctantly, challenging the need for it, but kept on because of his love for her. Then, one day, as he walked through town with his usual hides, he got reading the signs and found some of these buildings he was passing every day was a slaughter shop, a hunting store (probably a Bass Pro, right?! lol), and taxidermist. So he went in to see what they would offer and suddenly he became a big hit! Now, instead of tiny prophets from the pawn shop, he got paid what he was really worth for everything he hunted--the carcasses, the meat, & the skins--for a much better price, was featured in the paper for the largest hunted animals, became a local town celebrity, and began his own hunting school.  He took what he was already interested in, and through the understanding he gained in reading the signs, his personal interest compounded into success for everyone: both the taxidermist's and hunter's shops became national franchises through the success of Timothy's hunting school, the slaughter shop turned out the best deer meat for everyone around town and each of the owners, once struggling to keep their doors open, now could retire because of Timothy's success.  

In reality, what really changed? His travel route? No. Did the buildings change? No. It was his understanding he gained through (however reluctantly at first, mind you!) reading the signs! This didn't create new doors, it just opened his eyes to the doors that were already there, directing him to take his interest that God had already given him and compound it alongside the right people (i.e., not the pawn shop) who had the same. That is the way that big things happen.

Now apply this same principle of how reading the signs opens our eyes to our study of God's Word--we may know how we already understand it, but how many different ways to see it are we missing by not reading the signs from countless scholars (i.e., books) who have already opened their shops of expertise to us? Just look at all the different signs which the Scriptures give us to read--rhetorical, sociological, textual, literary, historical, and many countless others! If we don't keep reading the signs, we can't benefit, or be benefited by, the service each of these contribute. How many times do we pass by these open doors sitting on a shelf because we feel we just don't have the time to devote to these large tomes. But just imagine if every church had one expert in reading the signs for every area of Scripture's journey? My, My, My. . .

As one philosopher said, "the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." Just imagine a tool that allows you to take these gargantuan volumes and easily and conveniently digest them little by little each and every day--that's the Logos Reading Plans. Each of us are scholars in the chrysalis, while no one scholar can be motivated by everything--the day YOU start reading the signs that click with YOUR interest, you are off to the races with a team of scholars! Imagine an entire country of people who simply took out 1 single hour every day of TV time (God forbid, right?) and devoted that time to an actual reading plan? How much difference would that make in their lives? In the lives of their family? Church? Community? Town? State? You get the picture. How many incredible scholars have we lost simply because we aren't intentional about reaching out to people? Maybe we would actually turn a depressed country into an interested one. Maybe we would turn ignorance, and apathy, into knowledge, and ambition. 

God has success for all of us. We just need to keep reading the signs to compound our interest into a team working endeavor of knowledge and service--having your own Digital Library encourages this everyday.