"The width of our knowledge about [God] is no gauge of the depth of our knowledge of Him." ~ J.I. Packer, Knowing God Through the Year
Packer makes a great point here. Knowledge of God is vitally important (and Packer is not denying this at all) because without it we cannot love God with all our minds (Mark 12:30). We cannot truly worship God if we do not know Him and the glory of His perfections. However, having pure knowledge about God is not knowing Him. If we do not love God with all our hearts and souls (Mark 12:30) we do not really know Him. We can have every commentary and systematic theology book memorized, but if that mental knowledge does not take root deep in the heart then we do not truly know Him.
God interacted with humanity in a very personal way. The second Person in the Trinity, the very Image of the Father, condescended to personally deal with us, struggle with us, and struggle for us. How much more personal can the invitation be? The God who has dealt so personally with us cannot be truly known by raw data but must also be dealt with personally as He opens up to us and as He opens us up to Himself. Our dealings with Him should be as our dealings with any other person we want to know well. I can know many facts about my wife, there are some who may know as many facts as I do, but I believe I can confidently say few (if any) have the depth of knowledge of her that I do because I live with her, interact with her throughout the day, glory with her, and struggle with her (the reverse is also of course true).
May we pray as Augustine prayed in Confessions, "Let me know Thee, O my Knower; let me know Thee as I am known."
By His Grace,
Taylor
Monday, August 18, 2008
Monday, August 4, 2008
Do Not Forget the Pigs
"Don't forget the pigs... the further they get away the better they start looking... Always remember where He found you, don't forget the pigs... Don't forget the party and Who threw it for you... Remember what He is like, He is not like they told you... Don't forget when the party's over, tomorrow you have to go back to the field... When you have dirt under your fingernails, when you think you can't do it anymore, when you're really really tired think about the party. Someday when we get home we are going to have the party of all parties." ~ Steve Brown, A Word To The Boys From The Old Guy
If you have never listened to Steve Brown preach you are missing out. He will shock you and possibly offend you, but he will also remind you in a beautiful way of sweetness of the grace of God because that is all he preaches and he does it well. He preached recently at Perimeter on the prodigal son and I loved the above quote.
All to often we are prone to forget the pigs. When things start going our way and life is good we forget where He found us and how He took us from the pigs to the party. We forget how horrible it felt to be empty even though we had everything that we thought we wanted. We forget Who was the only Person Who did not leave us when we hit rock bottom and that is dangerous. When we forget the pigs, as Steve says, they start to not look so bad.
We cannot forget the party either because not only did He save us from the pigs but He gave us a place of honor. We are co-heirs with Christ (Romans 8:17). He killed the fattened calf for us and rejoiced when the lost sheep was found (Matthew 18:13). He could have made us a slave in His house, as the prodigal son thought would happen, for we did not even deserve that much, but He did not. He threw a party (incredible grace).
Finally, do not forget that the there is work to be done. We have to come down the mountain (Luke 9:28-36). When we do and work in the field doing the work He has prepared for us (Ephesians 2:10) we cannot forget the "party of parties" that is to come (Revelation 5:9-14). When we get dirty under our fingernails and we are tired we cannot forget the party that is to come.
By His Grace,
Taylor
If you have never listened to Steve Brown preach you are missing out. He will shock you and possibly offend you, but he will also remind you in a beautiful way of sweetness of the grace of God because that is all he preaches and he does it well. He preached recently at Perimeter on the prodigal son and I loved the above quote.
All to often we are prone to forget the pigs. When things start going our way and life is good we forget where He found us and how He took us from the pigs to the party. We forget how horrible it felt to be empty even though we had everything that we thought we wanted. We forget Who was the only Person Who did not leave us when we hit rock bottom and that is dangerous. When we forget the pigs, as Steve says, they start to not look so bad.
We cannot forget the party either because not only did He save us from the pigs but He gave us a place of honor. We are co-heirs with Christ (Romans 8:17). He killed the fattened calf for us and rejoiced when the lost sheep was found (Matthew 18:13). He could have made us a slave in His house, as the prodigal son thought would happen, for we did not even deserve that much, but He did not. He threw a party (incredible grace).
Finally, do not forget that the there is work to be done. We have to come down the mountain (Luke 9:28-36). When we do and work in the field doing the work He has prepared for us (Ephesians 2:10) we cannot forget the "party of parties" that is to come (Revelation 5:9-14). When we get dirty under our fingernails and we are tired we cannot forget the party that is to come.
By His Grace,
Taylor
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