I am so often amazed by the way my children challenge me. Like so many people I have been looking forward to reading the new Harry Potter book. I like the fact that it is no longer embarassing for adults to read children's books in public (maybe we should read more children's books. I'm particularly fond of "The very hungry caterpillar", but people gave me strange looks when I was reading it to myself on the bus into town the other day...) but that is an aside.
Having bought the new book on the day of its release (not at midnight I hasten to add!) I started reading it. So far I have been hooked and to be honest almost didn't right this in favour of reading another chapter...
I was left to look after Emily, who's 3 1/2 years old, at lunch time the day before yesterday. She wanted to watch Cbeebies while eating her lunch. As a conscientous (and at times a little lazy) father, instead of argueing with her about etiquette, good manners and the fact that eating should be done at the table unless you live in a cave, I told her she could sit on the sofa eating whatever sticky sandwich she had asked me for, in front of the TV. Hey, Mummy wasn't there, she could have a treat ! ; )
Anyhow, I sat down at the table, and as there was no polite company around, I sat there eating my sandwiches and reading Harry Potter. After a short time I realised Emily was watching me. I looked over to her and she said: "Daddy, why are you not reading your Bible at the table?" I replied simply: "Because I'm reading Harry Potter at the moment." "Is Harry Potter your Bible?" she then asked. I had to explain that it wasn't and then explain that the Bible is a much more important book than Harry Potter.
It got me thinking though. In all honesty, I am not very often as excited about reading the Bible as I have been about Harry Potter. There are times when that excitement comes back, lik for example the other week I heard Mike Pilavachi speaking on finding Jesus in the Old Testament and that got me excited about reading the Bible again (Have a look at Psalm 22 as a prophesy of Christ's crucifixion, hundreds of years before crucifixion had even been invented!), but in general I struggle to get excited about reading God's word.
I should read the Bible more often. Afterall, "lumos" is so disappointing when compared to raising the dead!
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