The Book of My Life
by Jeffrey W. Hamilton
Text: Job 19:23-27
I. Each week the paper publishes its list of top selling books
A. Sometimes the books are biographies, fictional stories, or fiction placed in historical settings.
B. They hope that others will also purchase the books, if for no other reason than curiosity.
C. Many author’s hope their work makes it to the bestseller’s list because it would mean that they would be famous and well paid.
II. If someone wrote down the events in your life, would it make the bestseller’s list?
A. Job made some powerful conclusions and hoped those thoughts would not be lost - Job 19:23-24
B. Job’s words were recorded and his patience is known throughout the ages.
C. The acts of the kings of Israel were recorded, such as Jeroboam - I Kings 14:19
D. Your life is being recorded - Psalms 139:16
III. Writing is the process of correcting
A. When an author writes a book, it takes many drafts before he feels he has gotten what he wants just right.
1. Many false starts are scrubbed before one remains.
2. In our own lives, we make mistakes that need to be scrubbed
a. If uncorrected, our memory could be blotted out - Deuteronomy 29:20
b. If confessed, not we but our sins can be cleansed - I John 1:8-9; Psalm 5:19
3. Imagine what kind of book an author would produce if he was unwilling to erase his mistakes. Imagine what kind of life we would have if we clung to our mistakes.
a. God does it for His own sake - Isaiah 43:25
b. Thus we need to repent - Acts 3:19
B. As an author refines his book, most of his changes are known only to himself. He doesn’t make all his mistakes known because it would impact his reputation as a writer.
1. In the same way, many of our own sins are private to ourselves or between us and those we sin against. Making them known to other people would not benefit them, nor would it help our own struggles.
2. Thus, we bring them up to God, Who knows all things, and ask for forgiveness - Isaiah 55:7
3. When we sin against another, we approach them to make things right and to ask for forgiveness - II Corinthians 7:10-11
C. Yet, most authors know they can’t rely on just themselves. If you read the acknowledgments of a book, you find that most have friends reviewing the material to see if they can spot problems.
1. We have each other to help us iron out the kinks in our lives - Galatians 6:1-2
2. Pray for one another - James 5:16
3. These friends don’t tell others, “You should have seen what a mess this guy made of his plot!” They are friends, and they protect the author’s reputation - James 5:19-20
D. Before a book is printed, it is professionally edited. These are people whose job it is to recognize problems and help lead the author in making improvements.
1. Preachers help us recognize problems - II Timothy 4:2
2. Elders watch over our lives - Hebrews 13:17
3. The goal is to keep people out of sin or to pull them back when they stray into sin. They are trying to get your life closer to the way it should be.
IV. An author is able to complete his book and move on to another.
A. We have just one life to live - Hebrews 9:27
B. The last page hasn’t been written in our lives yet. We don’t know what the ending of the story will be like.
C. God doesn’t want a bad book recorded. He doesn’t want to see a life lost - II Peter 3:9
V. If there are errors in your life, isn’t it about time to make corrections?
A. Oh that each of us could come to the end of our life and say like Paul - II Timothy 4:6-8
B. May the books of our lives have happy endings.
Based on the rough draft of an article by Brandon Sorrensen
