The Book of Life

When we are born, our name is written in the book of life — and what is the book of life but the life of God, whose presence infuses all things?

There are many ways in which God is like a book, as I realized when I read the following description of books by Frederick Buechner:

“Something of what they contain gets into the air you breathe…. They are prepared to give you all they’ve got at a moment’s notice, but are in no special hurry about it…. They are giving you their eloquent and inexhaustible silence. They are giving you time to find your way to them. Maybe they are giving you time, with or without them, just to find your way.”

As with books, something of what God contains gets into the air we breathe, because we are inspirited by the breath of God (see Genesis 2:7, Job 33:4, and John 20: 22). Like a book, God waits for our attention and then, at a moment’s notice, utterly enfolds us. Both books and God give us eloquent and inexhaustible silence and time to find our way to them. Even when we don’t seek their companionship, God, like a book, gives us time to find our way.

The books sitting on our shelves issue a continual, gentle invitation to explore their contents. Jesus does the same when, as the Word made flesh, he persists in inviting us to follow him, saying, “…learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls” (Mt 11:29). There is no need to read between the lines with words as straightforward as that.