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By J. Adam Tyler
Guest Columnist

Over the weekend, I was talking with a friend about one of our favorite authors. Ron Chernow has written several outstanding biographies, and this friend and I both enjoy his work. We chatted about the books we’ve read, what we’ve learned, and what other biographies we’ve recently enjoyed.

Summer is reading season for many of us, whether we are students with summer reading lists, vacationers looking for a beach read, or just someone relaxing on the porch with a good book. Biographies and memoirs are among the genres we may enjoy, and I’d imagine that there are lots of folks in our area who will pick up a biography this summer, whether it’s a bestseller or something picked up on a whim.

Why read biographies and memoirs? Sometimes, we want to know something about the subject, whether they are famous or not. Other times, we read a biography of someone we admire to learn why they are worthy of our admiration. We might read a biography because it promises juicy details of a scandalous life! Whatever our motivation, there is something about a biography or memoir that grabs our interest about a remarkable life.

Such motivations are not new. The ancient world produced many biographical writings. They were different than modern biographies, but they told the story of a life, and people read them for the same reasons we do.

Among the most enduring biographic writings of the ancient world are the Gospels of Jesus. Four were included in the Christian Scriptures, joining other oral and written accounts of the life of Jesus; the author of Luke’s Gospel begins with a reference to the many accounts of Jesus that existed. He wrote his collection of stories and teachings of Jesus “so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught.” (Luke 1:4) Each Gospel writer did this, with slightly different goals; but all wanted to tell the story of the most intriguing and important person they’d ever known: Jesus Christ.

Reading his story checks all the boxes of why people read biographies. His story is important: no one else has affected history as he did. His story is interesting: it includes incredible encounters and supernatural events. His story invites study: he taught a way of life that many have found fulfilling and worthy of imitation. And his story has been scandalous: why did God become human, how was a peasant from Galilee the Savior of the world, why did his friend betray him, how does dying open the path to life? These are among the reasons folks read biographies – and all are incorporated into the Gospels.

So this summer, you may have a TBR pile that includes a biography or two. If I can add a suggestion: read (or reread) one of the Gospels. You might just find Jesus intrigues or interests you in a whole new way!

REV. DR. J. ADAM TYLER is the senior pastor for Farmville Baptist Church, and he can be reached by email at pastor@farmvillebaptist.org.