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Available
Collection
Description
So many voices today tell us that avoiding pain and dodging trouble are the best we can expect from life. Yet God is at work in us. He doesn't call us to a bland vanilla existence but to an exciting quest for the best thing in life -- a heart that reflects the character qualities of Jesus Christ. Let Chuck Swindoll show you the building blocks of character that God wants to develop in you and how these traits can help you achieve lasting fulfillment. The Quest for Character offers forty encouraging meditations on character qualities that can significantly change your life. Each brief devotional ends with helpful suggestions for refining your character and scripture readings to draw you into God's Word.
Publication
Multnomah Pub (1987), 216 pages
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LibraryThing member ncgraham
How does one review a book of devotionals, exactly?
Granted, I don’t read nearly enough nonfiction, period, which means I do not have much experience reviewing it either. But I think a devotional work is especially difficult to evaluate, because it is dependent on both another book (the Bible, of
The first thing to note about Charles R. Swindoll’s The Quest for Character (and, in my opinion, one of its best features) is that he does truly see the Christian life as an adventure. Of course, a large part of our walk consists in abiding in Christ, but that is something that should—indeed, must—evidence itself in action. Swindoll sees that action as twofold in nature.
Some of the qualities God forms in our hearts are to be guarded, carefully and consistently kept. But others are to be given, freely and fully released. Our hearts aren’t always to be protected from intrusion. Sometimes we are to let ourselves go … allow ourselves to be broken … give ourselves away. It takes both guarding and giving.
If I have one complaint about the book, it is that this distinction he makes here is not always borne out in the devotionals themselves. When half of the daily readings are put under the heading of “Guarding Your Heart,” and the half under “Giving Your Heart,” I expect for a visible shift to occur in the middle. There wasn't one. Also, there were a few entries that seemed to have nothing to do with either the bigger theme of the section or the scripture readings accompanying them. I’m thinking particularly of the lesson entitled “God’s Judgment.” What connection does the story Swindoll tells have with either “Guarding Your Heart” or Hebrews 12? I really could not fathom it.
On the whole, though, Swindoll is a good storyteller, spinning out tales that help make his point and fit well with the scripture readings. More than anything, I enjoyed the Bible passages he selected, especially the back-to-back readings of Psalm 143 and Hebrews 12, which together packed a strong wallop of despair followed by enduring hope.
No matter if the selections from the Word ended up upstaging Swindoll’s own words. Isn’t that, ultimately, what a devotional ought to do?
Granted, I don’t read nearly enough nonfiction, period, which means I do not have much experience reviewing it either. But I think a devotional work is especially difficult to evaluate, because it is dependent on both another book (the Bible, of
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course), and, to a certain extent, the reader. It cannot be considered in isolation. And yet, from a strictly spiritual perspective, it seems wrong to “rate” one’s quiet times. I think I shall simply attempt to outline the purpose of the work, make a few points of my own, and then leave it at that.The first thing to note about Charles R. Swindoll’s The Quest for Character (and, in my opinion, one of its best features) is that he does truly see the Christian life as an adventure. Of course, a large part of our walk consists in abiding in Christ, but that is something that should—indeed, must—evidence itself in action. Swindoll sees that action as twofold in nature.
Some of the qualities God forms in our hearts are to be guarded, carefully and consistently kept. But others are to be given, freely and fully released. Our hearts aren’t always to be protected from intrusion. Sometimes we are to let ourselves go … allow ourselves to be broken … give ourselves away. It takes both guarding and giving.
If I have one complaint about the book, it is that this distinction he makes here is not always borne out in the devotionals themselves. When half of the daily readings are put under the heading of “Guarding Your Heart,” and the half under “Giving Your Heart,” I expect for a visible shift to occur in the middle. There wasn't one. Also, there were a few entries that seemed to have nothing to do with either the bigger theme of the section or the scripture readings accompanying them. I’m thinking particularly of the lesson entitled “God’s Judgment.” What connection does the story Swindoll tells have with either “Guarding Your Heart” or Hebrews 12? I really could not fathom it.
On the whole, though, Swindoll is a good storyteller, spinning out tales that help make his point and fit well with the scripture readings. More than anything, I enjoyed the Bible passages he selected, especially the back-to-back readings of Psalm 143 and Hebrews 12, which together packed a strong wallop of despair followed by enduring hope.
No matter if the selections from the Word ended up upstaging Swindoll’s own words. Isn’t that, ultimately, what a devotional ought to do?
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LibraryThing member ggannell
This book became the basis of a very positive and well received theme for the school in 1998. Guard your heart, and guide your heart provide a great structure for the book.
Highly recommended!
Highly recommended!