Thomas a’ Kempis’ The Imitation of Christ has good words for me and other bibliophiles: ”Certainly, when Judgment Day comes we shall not be asked what books we have read, but what deeds we have done; we shall not be asked how well we have debated, but how devoutly we have lived.” (1.3.5)
Hmmm…a good word for the day.
As some of you may know already (but probably don’t care!), John Calvin will be celebrating his 500th birthday on July 10, 2009. So with that in mind, I thought it appropriate that from time to time this year to reflect on some of Calvin’s legacies – not to bring glory to him, but to be reminded of his service to Christ’s church – both in the 16th century as well as how his ideas and work has been beneficial throughout the centuries since. Of course there are plenty of Calvin celebrations this year, all of which Calvin would not have enjoyed seeing that he really didn’t want to bring attention to himself (the “Captain” of the Reformation, some have called him, requested to buried in an unmarked grave!).
For the last two weeks I’ve been walking for 45 minutes every morning to school and often 45 minutes home. That time has been wonderful for me as I take in the beauty of God’s creation and spend time in reflection. However, I’ve also been listening to two different books on my iPod as I walk back and forth. The first is John Bunyan’s The Pilgrim’s Progress which is required reading for the Packer class. The reader is superb and I find listening to it actually very reflective. I am able to identify with Christian as he travels and reflect upon the struggles that he faces.
The second is Max McLean’s reading of the Bible (I’ve been listening to the Gospel of Mark). McLean reads the Bible very slowly and seems to have a good sense of how to emphasize various passages. The pace at which he reads allows for reflection and meditation. By listening to the Bible, I’ve found that the world of Jesus comes alive in ways that sometimes it doesn’t when the Bible is read silently.
Both of these books are available on Christianaudio.com. In addition to these two books, I certainly recommend perusing the other material that they have there. (And for those cheap/Dutch folk like me, if you sign up to become a member (which is free) you get a free book download a month – not too bad.)
I thought I would post this quote from John Owen in his The Nature of Mortification. It shows two things: first, the incredible density of his prose (this is one of his more succinct sections) and secondly, the importance of knowing “rightly” – not just the right “stuff.”
The difference between believers and unbelievers as to knowledge is not so much in the matter of their knowledge as in the manner of knowing. Unbelievers, some of them, may know more and be able to say more of God, his perfections, and his will, than many believers; but they know nothing as they ought, nothing in a right manner, nothing spiritually and savingly, nothing with a holy, heavenly light. The excellency of a believer is, not that he has a large apprehension of things, but that what he does apprehend, which perhaps may be very little, he sees it in the light of the Spirit of God, in a saving, soul-transforming light; and this is that whicch gives us communion with God, and not prying thoughts or curious-raised notions. (Owen, John. Overcoming Sin & Temptation, p. 117)
I recently showed Shadowlands (the true story of C.S. Lewis and his wife Joy – a MUST watch) to my students which caused me to read Lewis’s A Grief Observed – his reflections on pain and suffering. Within the context of mourning the loss of a loved one, Lewis discusses our view of God. He says that just as our “image” or perception of someone is always changing, so our image of God is always changing. Let me quote at length:
Images, I must suppose, have their use or they would not have been so popular. (It makes little difference whether they are pictures and statues outside the mind or imaginative constructions within it.) To me, however, their danger is more obvious. Images of the Holy easily become holy images – sacrosanct. My idea of God is not a divine idea. It has to be shattered time after time. He shatters it Himself. He is the great iconoclast. Could we not almost say that this shattering is one of the marks of His presence? The Incarnation is the supreme example; it leaves all previous ideas of the Messiah in ruins. And most are ‘offended’ by the iconoclasm; and blessed are those who are not. But the same thing happens in our private prayers.
All reality is iconoclastic. (Lewis, A Grief Observed, page 52)
“Reality is iconoclastic.” Reality tears down our constructed images (icons) and ideas about God. Just when we think we have God nailed down He acts, He surprises, He is. The danger is that we begin to worship our idea of God rather than the Living God Himself; we exalt our theology (words about God) over the Theo Logos (God-Word, John 1).
“You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth below or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God…” (Exodus 20:4,5). God forbids our bowing down to our own theologies and ideas of God; he requires that we worship Him – the true Living God, the great I AM.
I just picked up Eugene Peterson’s the jesus way, his third installment in his spiritual theology series. I’m just 30 pages into it, but it is going to be a fantastic read! I strongly recommend it – especially if you haven’t read anything by Peterson.
I once heard someone say that a library is one of noisest places in the world. One walks into a room filled with books – all of which are filled with ideas of men and women from so many different time periods, perspectives, and walks of life. The written word is far more than ink on paper; it is the beginning (or perhaps the middle) of a conversation. We probably miss this because we no longer read out loud. It used to be the norm to read out loud (St. Benedict had to give special direction to his monks to read quietly when they read at night so as not to disturb anyone!).
I wonder if there is a way that we can share what we are hearing from the books that we are reading. Maybe this can be a format for that.
