Augustine is a profound writer.
As I was reading Confessions, I felt as though I was finally old enough, or smart enough, to begin scanning this great and classic work. This was not the first time I had picked it up but it was the first time I finished it.
As I read, it became clear there was a reason this book sits on the list of must reads of not only Christian literature but also world history. At the very least, Augustine started a new form of literature: autobiography. But where so often a first run of something is only a husk of the future form, Augustine gives us the completed excellence while future attempts, by later autobiographers, seem to pale in comparison.
The Original Biographer
The original autobiography, by Augustine, was not a typical walkthrough of the life of the author but instead a prayer to the God he so completely wants to glorify. Unlike many autobiographies, Augustine puts his focus on God. There is much talk of himself but it is thoroughly within a conversation with God.
What is astounding is that Augustine just sits in that understanding. In fact, toward the end of the book he does not wax eloquent about himself after the turning point in his life (like the typical form of most autobiographies after) but instead focuses his attention on God and what he is doing in time and space.
This is the proper relationship each of us should have. Our autobiographies would be incomplete, lacking, if only an isolated look at ourselves apart from a proper relationship with God.
A Desire to Worship God
Augustine is listed as one of the church fathers for a reason and it is enriching to read his story and start to focus on what he focuses on. He is very good at drawing our gaze to God even when he is talking about himself.
Augustine cannot help himself from worshiping God in the text. He will talk about his past and then he will worship, the presence and nature of sin and then worship, the quality of plays and oration and then worship. Science. Worship. The stars. Worship. His mother. Worship. The very nature of time. Worship.
While reading I was invited to consider the glory of God for myself and, ultimately, to worship him for his goodness.
Read Augustine
Augustine is brilliant. Many in the church, on many sides, quote him, or attack him, but I wonder how many have read him. He is worth conversing with. Listen to his thoughts and try to follow along as he plumbs the depth of any number of topics. You will be the better for it.