Of all the books in my bookcases, one has a treasured place in my heart. I have mentioned this before. It is called Bible Biographies, edited by Robert Sears and published in 1848. It belonged to Rev. Abraham V. Leonardson, my grandmother’s grandfather on my mother’s side. He received it as a gift of appreciation in 1880. Abram Leonardson, as he called himself, was a Methodist circuit-riding pastor between the Civil War and World War 1. I have a couple of his Bibles, a small number of scrapbooks and this volume on the lives of the people of the Bible that is illustrated with scores of engravings. He and I have been ministering about 100 years apart. He was licensed to the Gospel ministry in 1867, and I was licensed in 1966.
My great-great grandfather served churches in Michigan, Indiana and Ohio. He would pastor as many as four churches at a time, preaching one Sunday a month at each, taking his wagon, later his buggy, to the next church. He was also a writer and turned many of his thoughts into newspaper articles, which he kept in his scrapbooks. Many of the scrapbooks were lost to time but in the few that I possess, his articles focused on holy living, temperance, and faithful prayer. His Bibles are filled with sermon notes and outlines, and even the occasional illustration. In many of his sermons he cried out against materialism. He suggested a better way was humility. He longed for people to find holiness in relationship with Christ.
To A.V. Leonardson, materialism was another word for greed. For our day materialism has been dressed up and passed off as consumerism that is necessary for a thriving economy. The appeal is to our pride, vanity, and pocketbook. Move out of the way Thanksgiving, you are being replaced—the world of Black Friday, Cyber Monday and consumer greed is heading straight for Christmas. Same old sin, only with better marketing, and more costly than ever.
Keep healthy. Pray mightily. Enjoy your life today. Find humility this holiday. And let’s experience the love and power of God together.
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