"Food is meant for the stomach and the stomach for food"--and God will destroy both one and the other. The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body.
My roommates and I talked about this in a communal quiet time we had today and looked at the analogy that Paul makes between the stomach's relation to food with the Lord's relation to the body. I think, generally, we're a little puzzled by what exactly is going on in this verse (what is Paul trying to communicate here?), and I'd love to hear all of your thoughts on it.
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Biblical Theology: What it is, why I love it, and why YOU should love it too
For a long time, if you asked me my favorite passage in the Bible, you would likely have been puzzled with my response. Ever since studying the story of David and Mephibosheth in 2 Samuel 9 with Berg my sophomore year in discipleship, I have loved the narrative. I've given talks on the passage, probably forced every Bible study I've ever led to read it, and gone to it when I have felt emotionally disconnected from the Lord. "Why?" you might ask--after all, it's simply a narrative of David keeping his promise to Jonathan to continue to show favor to his family. In response to that I would say, "True. But it's also a BEAUTIFUL picture of God loving, accepting, and adopting as a child someone who serves no use to him, and in fact is someone who probably deserves no better than death."
Little did I know it, but this was my first real encounter with biblical theology.
Upon hearing about my love for this narrative, and several similar narratives, Chris Burton recommended the book, According to Plan: An Introductory Biblical Theology. In this book, the author Graeme Goldsworthy says that biblical theology "enables us to relate any Bible story to the whole message of the Bible, and therefore to ourselves." This was incredibly intriguing to me, because this was what I was doing when I was looking at the passage on David and Mephibosheth. I saw David as a type of Christ, as we're often taught that he is, and was able to relate what he was doing to what God has done for us in Christ. But this could be done for any story in the Bible?? What did he even mean by that?? Well, it turns out, yeah, it absolutely can, and he means we can relate the ultimate story of God sending his son Jesus to die for our sins on the cross to Scripture just about anywhere we look--and it has SO enriched my reading of Scripture over the past year.
Here's why I love it: the Bible is so rich, and so beyond the surface reading that we can often give it--throughout all of history God has been showing us what would happen through Christ in so many different ways and through so many different people, through the laws and through narrative and through prophecy. As I have read the Bible over the past year or so, and especially lately, I have just been blown away by the richness of Scripture, and how so much of it points to, in some way, the good news of Christ's death on the cross for our sins.
Simply put, there are so many elements of the gospel in so many of the biblical narratives: Moses was called by God to represent him before the enslaved people of Israel in Egypt. He led the Israelites out of slavery and toward the promised land. Jesus is the greater Moses because he has led all people out of the slavery of sin and death and toward the promised land of life in Him, and never doubted the Word of God along the way.
David was but a humble shepherd tending his flock for his family when Israel's prophet called him to be king. He then went to battle against Goliath for all of Israel, humbly defeating a foreign ruler and oppressor when the entire nation of Israel was paralyzed in fear and even its king was afraid to fight. He defeated Goliath in an unconventional, humble way, and saved the nation of Israel. Jesus is the greater David because he defeats an even greater enemy on behalf of his people, also in the incredibly humble and unconventional way of dying on a cross to destroy death and saves a nation and is King over.
Naaman was a great ruler of Assyria, but he had leprosy--after speaking with Elisha, the prophet and representative of God, who told him to wash himself in the Jordan seven times and he would be healed, he went away angry, thinking that this way was foolish, until his servants convinced him to go back and do what the prophet said. Naaman expected to have to do great things to earn his cure, but all he really had to do was humble himself to the act of bathing seven times in the Jordan out of faith that God would really do what Elisha said He would do. This relates to the gospel because we, like Naaman, have a terrible disease in sin and our natural response is to feel that we need to earn our way back to God--we see this as true through so many conversations we have with people who talk about living a "good life", even people brought up in a solid church--maybe needing to do something GREAT to be healed of our sin, but the reality is that we need to put our faith in God that HE will heal us, in his own way, through the work of Christ on the cross, and to humble ourselves and go before him knowing that only he can heal us. (2 Kings 5)
Even the words of Christ point to this--In Luke 6:27-36, Jesus talks about loving our enemies and praying for those who persecute us. This is completely unnatural, and there is no person who has ever done this well, particularly on a heart level, except for Jesus. We get upset when people slight us only lightly, like with a sarcastic comment, or an elbow in a basketball game--but Christ endured the cross on behalf of sinners who continually rebelled against him. He loved his enemies (Romans 5:8) by dying on the cross for us while we were still sinners. He prayed for the people who were killing him as he was on the cross! Though we can't love our enemies perfectly, there is one who has done this--Christ!
As I have read Scripture after reading "According to Plan" and listening to Tim Keller talk about Christ-centered preaching, more of these continue to pop out at me, wherever I am reading in the text of the Bible, and it has been an incredible encouragement and enriching of my reading of the Word. I think it would do everyone well to go into a passage looking to ask the question: "How does this relate to the gospel and what Christ has done in my life?" This question helps me relate well to any passage in the Word and has helped me to look for the gospel in whatever I'm reading. What a sweet encouragement that God has been preparing us for the gospel of Jesus Christ throughout the Old Testament and that the whole Bible points to him!
The gospel needs to be at the center of our lives, as it is truly the center of Scripture, and reading the Bible in this way helps me to continually focus on what Christ has done for us, and the tremendous significance of that event for the world.
I'd love any comments and other insight you guys might have on this.
Little did I know it, but this was my first real encounter with biblical theology.
Upon hearing about my love for this narrative, and several similar narratives, Chris Burton recommended the book, According to Plan: An Introductory Biblical Theology. In this book, the author Graeme Goldsworthy says that biblical theology "enables us to relate any Bible story to the whole message of the Bible, and therefore to ourselves." This was incredibly intriguing to me, because this was what I was doing when I was looking at the passage on David and Mephibosheth. I saw David as a type of Christ, as we're often taught that he is, and was able to relate what he was doing to what God has done for us in Christ. But this could be done for any story in the Bible?? What did he even mean by that?? Well, it turns out, yeah, it absolutely can, and he means we can relate the ultimate story of God sending his son Jesus to die for our sins on the cross to Scripture just about anywhere we look--and it has SO enriched my reading of Scripture over the past year.
Here's why I love it: the Bible is so rich, and so beyond the surface reading that we can often give it--throughout all of history God has been showing us what would happen through Christ in so many different ways and through so many different people, through the laws and through narrative and through prophecy. As I have read the Bible over the past year or so, and especially lately, I have just been blown away by the richness of Scripture, and how so much of it points to, in some way, the good news of Christ's death on the cross for our sins.
Simply put, there are so many elements of the gospel in so many of the biblical narratives: Moses was called by God to represent him before the enslaved people of Israel in Egypt. He led the Israelites out of slavery and toward the promised land. Jesus is the greater Moses because he has led all people out of the slavery of sin and death and toward the promised land of life in Him, and never doubted the Word of God along the way.
David was but a humble shepherd tending his flock for his family when Israel's prophet called him to be king. He then went to battle against Goliath for all of Israel, humbly defeating a foreign ruler and oppressor when the entire nation of Israel was paralyzed in fear and even its king was afraid to fight. He defeated Goliath in an unconventional, humble way, and saved the nation of Israel. Jesus is the greater David because he defeats an even greater enemy on behalf of his people, also in the incredibly humble and unconventional way of dying on a cross to destroy death and saves a nation and is King over.
Naaman was a great ruler of Assyria, but he had leprosy--after speaking with Elisha, the prophet and representative of God, who told him to wash himself in the Jordan seven times and he would be healed, he went away angry, thinking that this way was foolish, until his servants convinced him to go back and do what the prophet said. Naaman expected to have to do great things to earn his cure, but all he really had to do was humble himself to the act of bathing seven times in the Jordan out of faith that God would really do what Elisha said He would do. This relates to the gospel because we, like Naaman, have a terrible disease in sin and our natural response is to feel that we need to earn our way back to God--we see this as true through so many conversations we have with people who talk about living a "good life", even people brought up in a solid church--maybe needing to do something GREAT to be healed of our sin, but the reality is that we need to put our faith in God that HE will heal us, in his own way, through the work of Christ on the cross, and to humble ourselves and go before him knowing that only he can heal us. (2 Kings 5)
Even the words of Christ point to this--In Luke 6:27-36, Jesus talks about loving our enemies and praying for those who persecute us. This is completely unnatural, and there is no person who has ever done this well, particularly on a heart level, except for Jesus. We get upset when people slight us only lightly, like with a sarcastic comment, or an elbow in a basketball game--but Christ endured the cross on behalf of sinners who continually rebelled against him. He loved his enemies (Romans 5:8) by dying on the cross for us while we were still sinners. He prayed for the people who were killing him as he was on the cross! Though we can't love our enemies perfectly, there is one who has done this--Christ!
As I have read Scripture after reading "According to Plan" and listening to Tim Keller talk about Christ-centered preaching, more of these continue to pop out at me, wherever I am reading in the text of the Bible, and it has been an incredible encouragement and enriching of my reading of the Word. I think it would do everyone well to go into a passage looking to ask the question: "How does this relate to the gospel and what Christ has done in my life?" This question helps me relate well to any passage in the Word and has helped me to look for the gospel in whatever I'm reading. What a sweet encouragement that God has been preparing us for the gospel of Jesus Christ throughout the Old Testament and that the whole Bible points to him!
The gospel needs to be at the center of our lives, as it is truly the center of Scripture, and reading the Bible in this way helps me to continually focus on what Christ has done for us, and the tremendous significance of that event for the world.
I'd love any comments and other insight you guys might have on this.
Friday, October 2, 2009
Now let me get up on my soapbox (Part 1: Worship Music)
One of my major soapboxes is worship music. For those who have known me for any length of time, the probability is that I've suggested you check out music by Indelible Grace, Sovereign Grace, and Red Mountain Church among others. I am also an incredibly lyrically-driven music listener. I generally don't like a song unless it's lyrics: 1. make sense, 2. are redemptive or at least convey a real experience in a meaningful way, 3. have some sense of art behind them (that is, they don't use the same phrase eight million other songs have used before). Now worship music is an even more specific case where lyrics gain an even greater importance. In a worship song, it is the lyrics that set it apart as a specifically God-directed activity. Thus, worship music lyrics ought to also: 1. make sense, 2. be redemptive (i.e. point me to Jesus and not myself), 3. have some sense of art behind them.
These don't seem to be too high of standards, yet so much contemporary worship fails to meet one or all of them. I was listening to a song by Hillsong United the other day titled "All I Need is You." (Disclaimer: this is not a generalized criticism of all Hillsong, just this song. There are a couple of their songs that really do point me to the gospel). Good premise, right? Let's check the lyrics:
Verse 1:
These don't seem to be too high of standards, yet so much contemporary worship fails to meet one or all of them. I was listening to a song by Hillsong United the other day titled "All I Need is You." (Disclaimer: this is not a generalized criticism of all Hillsong, just this song. There are a couple of their songs that really do point me to the gospel). Good premise, right? Let's check the lyrics:
Verse 1:
Left my fear by the side of the road
Hear you speak
Won't let go
Fall to my knees as I lift my hands to pray
Let's break down verse 1 a bit. We are invited to sing "left my fear by the side of the road" which sounds pretty good, and it begs the question: why? Apparently because we "Hear you speak", in which the you is presumably God, but what he's saying remains a mystery to us. Perhaps we are just supposed to know how hearing God say something makes us leave our fears behind, but it all seems a bit too vague for me. The verse continues with the phrase "won't let go", which again begs the question: of what? Again it is presumably God who we will not let go of, but again with no explanation of why. And how does hearing him speak lead me to not let go? Finally it concludes with the phrase: "fall to my knees as I lift my hands to pray". At this point we have managed to combine four classic spiritual phrases "left my fear", "hear you speak", "won't let go" and "fall to my knees" with no particular explanation as to how any of this relates to Jesus, or how or why these things connect with who God is in Scripture. Now don't get me wrong, every song doesn't need to be an in depth exposition of the a specific element of the gospel, but when vaguery and incoherence dominate the first verse, it doesn't bode well for the rest of the song.
Eventually we get the chorus (which in true Hillsong fashion is repeated at least a dozen times):
All I need is you
All I need is you Lord
Is you Lord
Again, there's certainly nothing wrong with the claim of the chorus. But apart from some reason why all we need is Jesus, is this just mere sentimentalism? I mean does repeating these words over and over actually meet us in our dissatisfaction and longing for redemption? Perhaps it makes us feel better for a moment, but in the end we must know how Jesus is our complete satisfaction.
Eventually we get to some gospel in the second verse:
One more day and it's not the same
Your Spirit calls my heart to sing
Drawn to the voice of my Saviour once again
Where would my soul be without your Son
Gave his life to save the earth
Rest in the thought that you're watching over me
So why is all we need "you Lord"? Because he's the "Saviour", without whom where would our souls be, and he "gave his life to save the earth." So we have at least something pointing us to the work of Christ, though it remains thoroughly unexplored (the phrasing that he "gave his life to save the earth" sounds a bit too Captain Planet for me, but we'll go with it). At this point you might be thinking, "Kyle, you're being way too analytical about this. It's just a song." But of course that gets at the most central problem we have with how we worship: most of the time we don't think about what we're singing.
And that's the real kicker: generally when we sing worship songs we aren't thinking about what we're singing. When we're singing most songs we aren't thinking about what we're singing. That's why Christians listen to Dave Matthews and Jay-Z (two very good musical artists in their own genres) and say "I don't pay attention the lyrics" (which of course is somewhat ironic given the fact that they could most likely sing along word-for-word with the lyrics). The problem is, when we don't think about what we're singing with regard to worship music, then corporate worship is really no different than a Coldplay concert. I've been to both. Both can give you chills and this amazing subjective experience of oneness that is almost spiritual. But it isn't worship. Or at least it's not worshiping Jesus. Worshiping Jesus means that we actually think about who he is and what he's done more than that sweet guitar riff that sent chills up my spine. Now the two aren't necessarily mutually exclusive, but you can't have the riff without the work of Jesus. Then it's just Coldplay's "Fix You". I used the Hillsong song above because it really is one of those songs that is musically pretty engaging; you could sing it without ever thinking about what you're singing.
And my guess is that's what most of us do. We measure worship based on whether it gave us musical chills in our spine which we call the Spirit, instead of whether it preaches the gospel to us. But the call of worship, whether it be through music, preaching, the Lord's Supper or prayer, is a call to look to Jesus, to make him the center, to hear the great Story of his work on our behalf so that we don't have to work. Or in the words of the great hymn:
Jesus paid it all, all to him I owe.
Sin had left a crimson stain he washed it white as snow.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
The Story of It All
Lately I've been reading a bunch of novels: sci-fi by Lewis and a few fantasy novels by Andrew Peterson. What I've realized is how much I've come to love the story of the gospel. If you had seen me four years ago, you would have seen a passionate, zealous guy who wanted to know as much theology as possible, preferably systematic. I wanted to know the propositions and know them well. I was propelled toward further knowledge as I discovered more and more new propositions to add to my newly formed reformed theological framework. Everything was systematized, organized and zealously pursued.
What I've found lately is that at some level propositions don't breed perseverance. Yes, they are absolutely fundamental to the faith (I'm not going way out emergent on you all with my proposition hating) but they are not sufficient in and of themselves to generate the type of faith that lives and moves and breaths for a lifetime. We must know the truths of the Scriptures: our sinful condition, God's free grace, justification by faith, spirit-empowered sanctification; as well as how to practice them: church order, sacraments, worship, etc. However, we also must know the Truth of Scripture--and here I mean the one transcendent Truth that is the story of Scripture. Jesus calls himself the Truth not merely because he speaks truth but because he is the sum, the climax of the entire true story of scripture. We must know the True Story if we want our faith to survive the perils, threats, and difficult trials of life on a fallen, screwed up and terribly seductive world.
What does this mean? We need a biblical theology that understands the story of Scripture--that understands why Genesis and Judges and Zechariah matter, that understands how Jesus fulfills the promises and types of the Old Testament, and ultimately, that shows us that the whole story, from alpha to omega is really centered on the Alpha and Omega. Jesus is at the center of the story. And until we see the unlikely rescue of Jesus for his people planned out in eternity past and fulfilled in the most unexpected of ways for the most undeserving of people, only when we see that story, will our hearts love the gospel for a lifetime. In one of his songs Jason Gray remarks, "It's gotta be more like falling in love than something to believe in, more like losing my heart, than giving my allegiance..." When we get caught up in the Story that we are called to be a part of, it is then that we are truly equipped to endure and persevere through all the challenges of a lifetime of faithful walking in our role of the grand Story of Existence.
Check out these related resources that I've been spending time as the Story has been challenging me and changing my heart:
Andrew Peterson: On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness, North! or Be Eaten
and his CD Behold the Lamb of God on itunes.
Sally Lloyd-Jones: The Jesus Storybook Bible
What I've found lately is that at some level propositions don't breed perseverance. Yes, they are absolutely fundamental to the faith (I'm not going way out emergent on you all with my proposition hating) but they are not sufficient in and of themselves to generate the type of faith that lives and moves and breaths for a lifetime. We must know the truths of the Scriptures: our sinful condition, God's free grace, justification by faith, spirit-empowered sanctification; as well as how to practice them: church order, sacraments, worship, etc. However, we also must know the Truth of Scripture--and here I mean the one transcendent Truth that is the story of Scripture. Jesus calls himself the Truth not merely because he speaks truth but because he is the sum, the climax of the entire true story of scripture. We must know the True Story if we want our faith to survive the perils, threats, and difficult trials of life on a fallen, screwed up and terribly seductive world.
What does this mean? We need a biblical theology that understands the story of Scripture--that understands why Genesis and Judges and Zechariah matter, that understands how Jesus fulfills the promises and types of the Old Testament, and ultimately, that shows us that the whole story, from alpha to omega is really centered on the Alpha and Omega. Jesus is at the center of the story. And until we see the unlikely rescue of Jesus for his people planned out in eternity past and fulfilled in the most unexpected of ways for the most undeserving of people, only when we see that story, will our hearts love the gospel for a lifetime. In one of his songs Jason Gray remarks, "It's gotta be more like falling in love than something to believe in, more like losing my heart, than giving my allegiance..." When we get caught up in the Story that we are called to be a part of, it is then that we are truly equipped to endure and persevere through all the challenges of a lifetime of faithful walking in our role of the grand Story of Existence.
Check out these related resources that I've been spending time as the Story has been challenging me and changing my heart:
Andrew Peterson: On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness, North! or Be Eaten
and his CD Behold the Lamb of God on itunes.
Sally Lloyd-Jones: The Jesus Storybook Bible
Monday, August 31, 2009
Update
Hey guys.
It's been a while but despite my negligence I haven't forgotten about the blog. In fact I wrote a lot of things this summer while I was in India but for one reason or another (mostly laziness) they never found their way to the actual blog. To be honest, I think I am a bit intimidated - not quite sure what is "worthy" of this forum so I hesitated a lot because I believed my thoughts to be unpolished and not "Christian" enough. Regardless, I think I'm over that now.
Anyways, I'm in India again (after a brief stint in the US to get things packed). I'm doing full time ministry with EMI (engineering ministries international), "designing a new world of hope" as they would say. It's a place I would have never imagined myself a couple of years ago. That is not beacuse I would be against going on an adventure over seas, but because I never imagined myself doing full time ministry. It's still really weird. There is lots of praying and reading the Bible and depending upon God for things - all foreign concepts really.
I'll be giving periodic updates on another blog I started (firstbreathafter.blogspot.com). I know I can't even keep up with this one. For general information and a couple of quirky metaphors that is probably a good place to go.
But you must know that God is doing a lot in me right now. He has literally come to get me out of the darkness. I was doing pretty bad the past couple of years, stuck in a pretty extensive depression, thinking about the end of my life like it was much too near. It really got to the point where I told God - you need to come and get me because I can't go on anymore. And look at what has happened now. I'm in India, serving Him. I'm not out of the woods. My melancholy lean won't allow that just yet - but I'm on my way. God is moving me and I've never been more thankful.
Pray for me guys. I think I need it. Also if you wouldn't mind, pray for my dad. He's going to be visiting in a couple of weeks and I hope that God will be able to show him everything this organization is about allowing him to better understand the transforming effect that Christ can have.
BOOOOOOM!!!!!
ps. Ricky Rubio?
It's been a while but despite my negligence I haven't forgotten about the blog. In fact I wrote a lot of things this summer while I was in India but for one reason or another (mostly laziness) they never found their way to the actual blog. To be honest, I think I am a bit intimidated - not quite sure what is "worthy" of this forum so I hesitated a lot because I believed my thoughts to be unpolished and not "Christian" enough. Regardless, I think I'm over that now.
Anyways, I'm in India again (after a brief stint in the US to get things packed). I'm doing full time ministry with EMI (engineering ministries international), "designing a new world of hope" as they would say. It's a place I would have never imagined myself a couple of years ago. That is not beacuse I would be against going on an adventure over seas, but because I never imagined myself doing full time ministry. It's still really weird. There is lots of praying and reading the Bible and depending upon God for things - all foreign concepts really.
I'll be giving periodic updates on another blog I started (firstbreathafter.blogspot.com). I know I can't even keep up with this one. For general information and a couple of quirky metaphors that is probably a good place to go.
But you must know that God is doing a lot in me right now. He has literally come to get me out of the darkness. I was doing pretty bad the past couple of years, stuck in a pretty extensive depression, thinking about the end of my life like it was much too near. It really got to the point where I told God - you need to come and get me because I can't go on anymore. And look at what has happened now. I'm in India, serving Him. I'm not out of the woods. My melancholy lean won't allow that just yet - but I'm on my way. God is moving me and I've never been more thankful.
Pray for me guys. I think I need it. Also if you wouldn't mind, pray for my dad. He's going to be visiting in a couple of weeks and I hope that God will be able to show him everything this organization is about allowing him to better understand the transforming effect that Christ can have.
BOOOOOOM!!!!!
ps. Ricky Rubio?
Thursday, August 20, 2009
The Joy of Being a Child
I think one of the sweetest joys of being a child is that you cannot have everything you want. I was talking to Christy the other day, and a story she told prompted me on this particular tangent of thought. She mentioned to me how when she was a kid, her family would only go out to eat once every six months, and even then they would always order water as their drink. She recalled how one time at one of these rare occasions her parents told Christy and her siblings that they were allowed to order whatever they wanted to drink. To Christy, that glass of chocolate milk was the best thing she'd ever tasted.
I think this example is such a reflection of the way that our hearts and our desires work. It's not really the object of the desire itself that brings pleasure. That chocolate milk was probably no different from the chocolate milk she drinks today. But there is something about how constraints in our pursuit of what we desire will actually create greater joy in the long run. A specific example for me as a kid was my intense desire for ice cream every time I heard the jingle of the ice cream truck. There was something magical about that jingle that it had every kid on the block sprinting full on to catch the truck as it was turning the corner. These days I can buy all those cheap ice creams any time I stop to fill up gas. On occasion I do. But the pleasure is never the same. Sure the ice cream tastes pretty good. But there isn't that sense of wonder, of curiosity satisfied, of a pleasure that doesn't come often.
This would usually be the part of the post where I'd explain how I've seen this as a metaphor for something bigger in life, something spiritual even. But actually I haven't made that connection yet. Perhaps I will soon. In the meantime I'll mourn the loss of wonder in the ice cream bar and chocolate milk and perhaps try and recapture it.
I think this example is such a reflection of the way that our hearts and our desires work. It's not really the object of the desire itself that brings pleasure. That chocolate milk was probably no different from the chocolate milk she drinks today. But there is something about how constraints in our pursuit of what we desire will actually create greater joy in the long run. A specific example for me as a kid was my intense desire for ice cream every time I heard the jingle of the ice cream truck. There was something magical about that jingle that it had every kid on the block sprinting full on to catch the truck as it was turning the corner. These days I can buy all those cheap ice creams any time I stop to fill up gas. On occasion I do. But the pleasure is never the same. Sure the ice cream tastes pretty good. But there isn't that sense of wonder, of curiosity satisfied, of a pleasure that doesn't come often.
This would usually be the part of the post where I'd explain how I've seen this as a metaphor for something bigger in life, something spiritual even. But actually I haven't made that connection yet. Perhaps I will soon. In the meantime I'll mourn the loss of wonder in the ice cream bar and chocolate milk and perhaps try and recapture it.
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Too Much of a Good Thing
It has been a dry season for me lately. Between raising support and being in a lot of transition, it has been difficult to spend a lot of time in the Word or in the study of it. Instead I've found myself reading several genres I haven't read for awhile: biography and science fiction. It is interesting to see how truth is spoken (often with greater meaning) through the means of story instead of proposition. Narrative instead of argument. One particular area where these stories have spoken to me is in the question of satisfaction. That is, what does it mean to be satisfied and where is that found?
A quote from a biography of Catholic priest Henri Nouwen:
"We ignore what we already know with a deep-seated intuitive knowledge--that no love or friendship, no intimate embrace or tender kiss, no community, commune or collective, no man or woman, will ever be able to satisfy our desire to be released from our lonely condition. This truth is so disconcerting and painful that we are more prone to play games with our fantasies than to face the truth of our existence. Thus we keep hoping that one day we will find the man who really understands our experiences, the woman who will bring peace to our restless life, the job where we can fulfil our potentials, the book which will explain everything, and the place where we can feel at home. Such false hope leads us to make exhausting demands and prepares us for bitterness and dangerous hostility when we start discovering that nobody, and nothing, can live up to our absolutistic expectations."
I think Nouwen says it so well when he remarks that we would prefer to "play games with our fantasies" instead of facing the truth of our dissatisfaction head on. We fear the fact that nothing will truly satisfy us, and so we simply pretend that it is not true, and then immerse ourselves in all manner of sexual, success and relational fantasy to numb the pain.
Now from C.S. Lewis, in his science fiction book Perelandra:
"Looking at a fine cluster of the bubbles which hung above his head he thought how easy it would be to get up and plunge oneself through the whole lot of them and to feel, all at once, that magical refreshment multiplied tenfold. But he was restrained by the same sort of feeling which has restrained him over-night from tasting a second gourd. He had always disliked the people who encored a favourite air in the opera--"That just spoils it" has been his comment. But this now appeared to him as a principle of far wider application and deeper moment. This itch to have things over again, as if life were a film that could be unrolled twice or even made to work backwards...was it possibly the root of all evil? No: of course the love of money was called that. But money itself--perhaps one valued it chiefly as a defence against chance, a security for being able to have things over gain, a means of arresting the unrolling of the film... Money, in fact, would provide the means of saying encore in a voice that could not be disobeyed."
Lewis points out that when we find something we believe does satisfy us, we feel the need to make an idol out of it (though he doesn't use those words). He describes the way that we take the hint of satisfaction that this world offers and try and suspend it, or maintain it for as long as possible. In our world there is no sense of the reality that certain pleasures or satisfaction might have their time and place and then be finished. Or, even more, that the hints of pleasure and satisfaction that this world offers are mere signposts pointing us to the true source of satisfaction. It is as if we were traveling to Chicago and saw a sign saying "Chicago 30 Miles" and decided to stop there and bask in the joy of how close we were; setting up camp and seeking to cling to that satisfaction as long as possible, all while missing the point of the sign in the first place.
We won't be truly satisfied by anything this world has to offer, nor will we be able to turn its hints of satisfaction into something lasting. Whether it's biography or science fiction, the truth is the same: "Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever" (Psalm 73:25-26).
A quote from a biography of Catholic priest Henri Nouwen:
"We ignore what we already know with a deep-seated intuitive knowledge--that no love or friendship, no intimate embrace or tender kiss, no community, commune or collective, no man or woman, will ever be able to satisfy our desire to be released from our lonely condition. This truth is so disconcerting and painful that we are more prone to play games with our fantasies than to face the truth of our existence. Thus we keep hoping that one day we will find the man who really understands our experiences, the woman who will bring peace to our restless life, the job where we can fulfil our potentials, the book which will explain everything, and the place where we can feel at home. Such false hope leads us to make exhausting demands and prepares us for bitterness and dangerous hostility when we start discovering that nobody, and nothing, can live up to our absolutistic expectations."
I think Nouwen says it so well when he remarks that we would prefer to "play games with our fantasies" instead of facing the truth of our dissatisfaction head on. We fear the fact that nothing will truly satisfy us, and so we simply pretend that it is not true, and then immerse ourselves in all manner of sexual, success and relational fantasy to numb the pain.
Now from C.S. Lewis, in his science fiction book Perelandra:
"Looking at a fine cluster of the bubbles which hung above his head he thought how easy it would be to get up and plunge oneself through the whole lot of them and to feel, all at once, that magical refreshment multiplied tenfold. But he was restrained by the same sort of feeling which has restrained him over-night from tasting a second gourd. He had always disliked the people who encored a favourite air in the opera--"That just spoils it" has been his comment. But this now appeared to him as a principle of far wider application and deeper moment. This itch to have things over again, as if life were a film that could be unrolled twice or even made to work backwards...was it possibly the root of all evil? No: of course the love of money was called that. But money itself--perhaps one valued it chiefly as a defence against chance, a security for being able to have things over gain, a means of arresting the unrolling of the film... Money, in fact, would provide the means of saying encore in a voice that could not be disobeyed."
Lewis points out that when we find something we believe does satisfy us, we feel the need to make an idol out of it (though he doesn't use those words). He describes the way that we take the hint of satisfaction that this world offers and try and suspend it, or maintain it for as long as possible. In our world there is no sense of the reality that certain pleasures or satisfaction might have their time and place and then be finished. Or, even more, that the hints of pleasure and satisfaction that this world offers are mere signposts pointing us to the true source of satisfaction. It is as if we were traveling to Chicago and saw a sign saying "Chicago 30 Miles" and decided to stop there and bask in the joy of how close we were; setting up camp and seeking to cling to that satisfaction as long as possible, all while missing the point of the sign in the first place.
We won't be truly satisfied by anything this world has to offer, nor will we be able to turn its hints of satisfaction into something lasting. Whether it's biography or science fiction, the truth is the same: "Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever" (Psalm 73:25-26).
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