What is the second best-selling Christian book of all time? The all-time best seller is a no-brainer—the Bible. The runner-up best-seller is likely one you don’t know and haven’t read. It’s Thomas a Kempis’ (1380-1471) devotional classic, The Imitation of Christ. Thomas’ original last name, “Hemerken,” meant “little hammer,” which fits, given that his dad was a blacksmith. Thomas joined the monastic order of The Brethren of the Common Life and was assigned to teach novice monks in the way of Christ. He wrote four books from 1420-1427 that he later collected into a single work and titled after the first book. His rationale for writing the books anonymously was that one should “love to be unknown” (not exactly a twenty-first century motto). His writing resembles the Old Testament style of Proverbs as it was intended to be read in short segments for further reflection. To introduce this devotional classic to you, I offer you my top ten list of his favorite quotes:
- “Be not angry that you cannot make others as you wish them to be, since you cannot make yourself as you wish to be.”
- “Jesus has many lovers of the heavenly kingdom but few bearers of his cross.”
- “God often grants in a moment what He has long denied.”
- “Nothing will hinder you more than thinking only about yourself.”
- “A wise lover values not so much the gift of the lover as the love of the giver.”
- “For man proposes, but God disposes.”
- “If God were our one and only desire, we would not be so easily upset when our opinions do not find outside acceptance.”
- “We are all frail, but you should think of no one as being more frailed than yourself.”
- “Fight like a man. Habit is overcome by habit.”
- “If you want to learn something that will really help you, learn to see yourself as God sees you and not as you see yourself in the distorted mirror of your own self-importance.
Here’s one more for extra measure: “Wherever you are, there you are.” We conclude with a prayer from Thomas a Kempis (slightly revised):