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The Luggage of Life: Classic Devotional Essays on Faith and Everyday Living
A captivating series of essays and insights on life and religion. Frank Boreham's passion for the subjects and enchanting writing style has led to this classic seeming as relevant today as it was when written.
Edition originally printed in 1922, reformated by kindle.
Edition originally printed in 1922, reformated by kindle.
260 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1912
About the author
F.W. Boreham
138 books59 followersRev. Dr. Frank W. Boreham
(March 3rd 1871 – May 18th 1959) Served, and wrote, in the UK, New Zealand, and Australia.
(March 3rd 1871 – May 18th 1959) Served, and wrote, in the UK, New Zealand, and Australia.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
January 27, 2020
Another Boreham down. I read one of his essays each night before I sleep and that is both wonderful and terrible. Wonderful because I always end my day well fed but terrible because sometimes it is hard to shut my mind down after Boreham has just blown said mind. Here are a few of the juicy tidbits that I wanted to share: (and believe me when I say I really did narrow it down!)
"Christ gives rest to the heart by giving burdens to the shoulders. And, as a matter of fact, it is in being burdened that we usually find rest...Heavy luggage is Christ's strange cure for heavy hearts."
"We are like islands," says Rudyard Kip;ing, "and we shout to each other across seas of misunderstanding."
"In the world's history the continents are ruled by the islands, not the islands by the continents."
"There is no charge committed to our care so mysterious and so sacred as the development and diffusion of our own selves."
"We forget that a saint and a sceptic can dwell together in the same skin. 'Lord, I believe' - there you have at the saint! 'Help Thou mine unbelief' - there you have the sceptic!"
"Grace holds on when the gilt wears off."
"Knowledge is not the monopoly of any one of her numerous schools. And the fact is that Truth is always and everywhere friendly to Truth."
"It is the glory of the Christian faith that it is immense enough to be able to contain within itself aspects and elements that at first sight seem strangely conflicting."
"There is a sense in which every sob is a sacrament."
"He walks beneath the stars and feels that, in a universe of such incomprehensible immensity, there is room for every worm that crawls, and, therefore, a place for him."
"It was with him as when a great steamer stops in mid-ocean to allow her engine to cool. The thud of the propeller, the vibration of the machinery, are felt no longer; the stillness is uncanny."
"Materialism, unmasked, appears as the religion of the rubbish-heap. It is well to set our affections on the things for which the rubbish-heap can have no terrors."
"Evil evolves where good evacuates."
"We forget tiddley-winking in the contemplation of the tremendous."
"It is the pathetic fate of Deity," says Pascal, "to be everlastingly misunderstood."
"Man was made for God, and only finds his perfect poise in His presence. To see God is to eat and drink - to be perfectly, peacefully, reverently, restfully, delightfully at home."
"The Cross is the last word in the grim record of the world's most ghastly failures; it is at the same time the emblem of a victory which shall shame our most radiant dreams."
"We make an egregious blunder when we try to persuade men that the way to heaven is easy."
"Have you beliefs," says an old writer, "and have your doubts. Believe your beliefs and doubt your doubts. Never doubt your beliefs, and never believe your doubts."
"There are only two men in the whole wide world who can ask questions effectively. There is the man who does not know, and wants to learn; and there is the man who does know, and wants to teach. Of the former, Alexander the Great is the classical illustration; among the latter, Socrates stands supreme."
"Christ gives rest to the heart by giving burdens to the shoulders. And, as a matter of fact, it is in being burdened that we usually find rest...Heavy luggage is Christ's strange cure for heavy hearts."
"We are like islands," says Rudyard Kip;ing, "and we shout to each other across seas of misunderstanding."
"In the world's history the continents are ruled by the islands, not the islands by the continents."
"There is no charge committed to our care so mysterious and so sacred as the development and diffusion of our own selves."
"We forget that a saint and a sceptic can dwell together in the same skin. 'Lord, I believe' - there you have at the saint! 'Help Thou mine unbelief' - there you have the sceptic!"
"Grace holds on when the gilt wears off."
"Knowledge is not the monopoly of any one of her numerous schools. And the fact is that Truth is always and everywhere friendly to Truth."
"It is the glory of the Christian faith that it is immense enough to be able to contain within itself aspects and elements that at first sight seem strangely conflicting."
"There is a sense in which every sob is a sacrament."
"He walks beneath the stars and feels that, in a universe of such incomprehensible immensity, there is room for every worm that crawls, and, therefore, a place for him."
"It was with him as when a great steamer stops in mid-ocean to allow her engine to cool. The thud of the propeller, the vibration of the machinery, are felt no longer; the stillness is uncanny."
"Materialism, unmasked, appears as the religion of the rubbish-heap. It is well to set our affections on the things for which the rubbish-heap can have no terrors."
"Evil evolves where good evacuates."
"We forget tiddley-winking in the contemplation of the tremendous."
"It is the pathetic fate of Deity," says Pascal, "to be everlastingly misunderstood."
"Man was made for God, and only finds his perfect poise in His presence. To see God is to eat and drink - to be perfectly, peacefully, reverently, restfully, delightfully at home."
"The Cross is the last word in the grim record of the world's most ghastly failures; it is at the same time the emblem of a victory which shall shame our most radiant dreams."
"We make an egregious blunder when we try to persuade men that the way to heaven is easy."
"Have you beliefs," says an old writer, "and have your doubts. Believe your beliefs and doubt your doubts. Never doubt your beliefs, and never believe your doubts."
"There are only two men in the whole wide world who can ask questions effectively. There is the man who does not know, and wants to learn; and there is the man who does know, and wants to teach. Of the former, Alexander the Great is the classical illustration; among the latter, Socrates stands supreme."
June 28, 2016
Dr.Ravi Zacharias quotes F.W. Boreham quite often (less often than he quotes Malcolm Muggeridge :) in his talks. This book is a classic composition of essays touching different aspects of life and beyond; I would like to re-read sometime...
September 2, 2026
Not bad. Some anachronisms, but overall a nice little collection of essays. I found "the tireless trudge" to be an encouraging read for the beginning of the school year. It can be found online, and I recommend it! Also good: "So many beds in the ward", "Sermons and sandwiches", "A tonic of big things", and "hat-pins and button-hooks."
December 22, 2021
Boredom is always a pleasure but I found I didn't enjoy this one as much. There are some points where it hasn't aged well and this isn't my favorite collection of his essays. That being said it was still elegant and thought provoking.
September 2, 2023
Boreham at his best!
This has been one of my favorites. If your new to Boreham this is a good start. You’re in for a treat. His deep and reflective insights coupled with his practical allegories and application, makes these short essay sermonettes shine.
This has been one of my favorites. If your new to Boreham this is a good start. You’re in for a treat. His deep and reflective insights coupled with his practical allegories and application, makes these short essay sermonettes shine.
December 2, 2023
While a few of these essays have lost their relevancy due to time and place, most of them still read well. Boreham is an excellent writer -- creative and insightful -- and this old book is well worth reading.
June 4, 2020
SO GOOD. Another great Boreham book to start with if you haven't read him.
February 13, 2014
finished up this great book. Boreham is always terrific and Luggage of a life is no exception.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews