“And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And it repented the LORD that He had made man on the earth, and it grieved Him at His heart” (Genesis 6:5,6).

I have always loved books and libraries. As a child, I spent much time in the Houston Public Library and read many books. As an engineering student (later also as a teacher), spending my evenings at the Rice University Library was a favorite activity—then even more so in the library at the University of Minnesota where I was both an instructor and a graduate student.

“Of His own will begat He us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures” (James 1:18).

“Therefore thus saith the LORD God, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation; he that believeth shall not make haste” (Isaiah 28:16).

“To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27).