The Gift-Giver, the Gift

“In that day the LORD Almighty

will be a glorious crown,

a beautiful wreath

for the remnant of his people.”

(Isaiah 28:5, NIV)

 

            These words come as the prophet speaks of the “day of the Lord”, the day of judgment and mercy, when God redeems His people and puts an end to the wicked.  As I read them, I was reminded that the greatest promise we have been given in salvation is the promise of closeness with God.

            We can forget that, or pay only lip-service to it.  I think it would be too much to say that we forget the Giver of salvation and think only of His gifts; but it’s possible that when we count the many gifts of salvation, we forget that foremost among them is an ever-nearer relationship with the Giver, Almighty God.

            We rejoice in the forgiveness of our sins.  We cling to the promise of eternal life and the new creation.  We long for the fulness of our sanctification, when we will no longer be so weak and easily tempted.  We marvel at the prospect of eternity and the foretelling of undeserved rewards.  But in all of these things, we must not forget that the greatest reward is the presence of God Himself.

            He is the crown for the redeemed.  His presence is the light and glory of heaven.  His company is the joy of eternity.  His love is the sweetness of unending life.  Maybe we come closest to understanding when we reflect on the gift of redemption that is our adoption as sons and daughters of the Most High.  How wonderful beyond words to have a restored relationship with our Creator, to be His child and to rest in Him.

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Words of Radiance

“The law of the LORD is perfect,

refreshing the soul.

The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy,

making wise the simple.

The precepts of the LORD are right,

giving joy to the heart.

The commands of the LORD are radiant,

giving light to the eyes.

The fear of the LORD is pure,

enduring forever.

The decrees of the LORD are firm,

and all of them are righteous.”

(Psalm 19:7-9, NIV)

 

            Last post, I mentioned the darkening of the mind that we can expect when we turn away from what God has spoken and determine to justify what we wish to be true.  In this psalm, we find reflection on the beautiful corresponding thought, that enlightenment comes when we submit ourselves to the Word of God.

            David mingles expressions of the delight that comes from listening to God with the illumination that God’s Word gives.  Attending to what God has spoken brings refreshment to the soul and joy to the heart, but also wisdom to the simple and light to the eyes.  God’s word is luminous in its glory and beauty, and illuminating in its effect upon those who are submitted to what He has spoken.

            It really is not surprising.  God possesses all wisdom and knowledge.  He is the very Creator and Sustainer of our rational universe.  We should expect that a heart humble and attentive to Him would lead to an enlightened mind.  And if we can see ourselves honestly and truly, it should compel us to cling more loyally to Him who is the light of the world.

The (il)Logic of Defection

Andrew Wilson, teaching pastor at King’s Church, London, has offered an incisive parody of the arguments being used by defectors from loyalty to God these days to justify their embrace of the new sexual revolution.  Those familiar with the (already tired) line of arguments used in these contexts will find his little piece spot-on.  Like any parody about deadly serious things, it would be funny if it weren’t so true.

Wilson borrows the framing terminology of the religious left, and carries the reader through one fallacious argument after another, to the inevitable (or is it?) conclusion.

Reflecting on these fallacious arguments and rhetorical flourishes, and many others used the same contexts, I am reminded of the basic irrationality of defection from loyalty to God.  When former evangelicals cross these lines they tend to explain it along logical lines, but end up with an embarrassing series of fallacies–as Wilson showcases.  Defection is driven by emotivism, not reason–because reason is on God’s side, while “The heart is deceitful above all things” (Jer. 17:9, NIV).

When you turn away from God, the source of all light and wisdom, you are asking for the darkening of your mind.

Drawing Near

“Almighty and most merciful God, in whom we live, and move, and have our being; Lord of all life; Source of all light, guiding and governing all things of Thy lovingkindness and power!  Hear our thanksgivings unto Thee for all the joy that Thou puttest into mortal life; but chiefly for the joy that comes of sin forgiven, weakness strengthened, victory promised, life eternal looked for.  To every one of us grant that, being fully conscious of having erred and strayed from Thy ways, we may be equally conscious of our need to go back again to the Good Shepherd.  Let there be no doubt with any one of us that Thou dost forgive, even to the uttermost, all those who draw nigh in penitence to Thee; that so, those of us who are sinful, and sad because sinful, and sorrowful in sinning, may have this day the joy of the Lord–Amen.”

-George Dawson, quoted in Great Souls at Prayer, 117.

Mything the Point

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Resurrection, Truth

Dare we speak of the truths of the Christian faith as “myth”?

For some, especially those steeped in a literary background, referring to something as “myth” is not a denial that it really happened, but a statement about its significance.  J.R.R. Tolkien is said to have drawn C.S. Lewis to the Christian faith by putting it in terms of “true myth.”

Yet it seems to me this is very dangerous ground.  Perhaps Tolkien and Lewis can reckon in these terms, but to the vast majority of people saying something is myth means precisely that it is not true–though it may have some nice lessons.  A myth is a fable or parable, perhaps.  So attempting to play with this category of myth is very likely to communicate that what we are talking about has no place in reality except as metaphor or symbol for something else.

And even to someone with a more literary bent, who understands myth as a question of significance, there is a strong danger that we will bifurcate truth–that we will give the impression that truth as fact and truth as meaning are different things with no necessary relation to one another.  Thus the blogger Christian Chiakulas can stake his claim that because of the mythological significance of the resurrection of Christ, it doesn’t matter if it actually happened.  And, unsurprisingly, the end result is that the significance of Christ’s resurrection becomes an affirmation of Chiakulas’s ideologies.  Should we be surprised if there is a connection between denying the fact of what Christ has done and turning the work of Christ into support for your own agenda?

The significance of what Christ has done cannot be separated from the reality of what Christ has done.  Against error in the church at Corinth, Paul said “Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand.  By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.  For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,  that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve” (1 Cor. 15:1-5, NIV).

What was it the apostle thought so important?  What did he pass on to the church as the core of his gospel preaching?  What did they receive and build their faith upon?  What was the foundation of their salvation, from which they must not deviate?  What was the received teaching that the apostle passed on, the message of first importance?

It was the facts of the death and resurrection of Christ.  Each is elaborated with reference to Scripture and the plan of God, each demonstrated by evidence, the burial that followed Christ’s death and the witnesses who saw Him after His resurrection.  The significance of the work of Christ was rooted in the reality of the work of Christ.  Without the reality of the work of Christ, there is no gospel.