After racing last Sunday (see prior post) I came home and nestled into my favorite corner of the couch. Every now and then I will go on a run or bike ride and listen to a sermon instead of electro/house music. Yeah, my taste is eclectic, I know. I have read two books by Timothy Keller, a minister in NYC who has been considered by some to be our generation’s C.S. Lewis. He rejects and comparisons to his hero, but his metaphors and clarity are reminiscent of Lewis’s style. He knows how to articulate things intelligently, humorously, gently- leaving no stone unturned.
The Reason for God and The Meaning of Marriage are the Keller books in the Grevers bibliotheca. If you are married, engaged, or considering marriage, I cannot give The Meaning of Marriage a heftier recommendation. I read through it voraciously and have reread many parts of it. I have found reading books on marriage, if nothing else, gives me time to meditate on the person I love the most. That’s something we should all do more of! Unless you’re the stalking obsessive type, in which case this book is still good practice for you to meditate on the right things.
After discovering Dr. Keller’s sermon archives I was confused by the setup, until I fell in love with it. Click on one of the bold questions at the top and you will find any sermons that helps answer that question. All of the questions are most likely questions you have thought.
Who is God? What is the Gospel? How Do I Experience God? Can I Believe?
The last question is the biggest struggle for me and Matt. We are taught to be skeptical of everything. Base our opinions on known truths. Challenge our own beliefs. Make sure our life is revolving on something real, permanent, not a trend. Ask questions constantly. If there’s not a good answer, it’s not worth believing. Yet, how often did I study the content of a textbook and assume without questioning that is was factual? The science was all figured out before these words crept their way onto my pages. A prime example of lapping up course material was my history of contemporary art class in college. I had a passionate professor. He could suck you into a piece of art unlike any other teacher. We looked at a black dot on the projection screen and by the end of his interpretation, you wholeheartedly believed the artist created that black dot because it represented the deep, intrinsic darkness he felt that he could not climb out of. This was an autobiographical painting of the dismal black hole the artist’s life had become, my professor speculated. “Do you see the artist, that tiny speck in the middle of the darkness?” Hmmm. Yes! I believe I do!
Opinions presented as facts lure us in all of the time, yet when someone speaks about God we all become stalwart skeptics. Myself very much included. This is why I love that Dr. Keller has an entire category devoted to the question “Can I believe?” I kind of wish there were no dates listed by the sermons. I’m programmed to think a sermon from 1994 is going to be as dated as the attire in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (albeit still awesome), but even a message from 1994 contains messages profoundly relative today!
I just walked the pups and listened to a message categorized “Modern Problems, Ancient Solutions.” The Search for Happiness is all over the place. So many superficial things are guaranteeing us a better, happier life. In our early years happiness seems to come easily, then as we grow, it no longer seems sustainable. Dr. Keller gives one of the most brilliant metaphors ever in which we are all trees enduring seasons. There are arduous times of year and then seasons we are in full bloom. But where our roots cling makes all the difference, especially during a drought. My desire is to be rooted in God so during the harsh seasons of life, I can reach even deeper into my roots for the nourishment I need to survive. My cousin-in-law’s sister just experienced one of the most painful months I can fathom. She and her husband watched their baby girl fight for her life, endure numerous surgeries, and finally close her earthly eyes for one final time. April (the mama) exudes a faith that left me weeping. I tried to imagine how I would handle this heart-shattering situation, and I know that April was given a divine perception while surrendering her baby to heaven’s gates. Read about her journey and a faithful roots that only grew deeper as the storm raged on. Your story alone tramples out my doubts, April.
Can I believe? Most assuredly.
Comments
Quite serendipitous that I read your post today since I came across this quote this morning:
"Supposing there was no intelligence behind the universe, no creative mind. In that case, nobody designed my brain for the purpose of thinking. It is merely that when the atoms inside my skull happen, for physical or chemical reasons, to arrange themselves in a certain way, this gives me, as a by-product, the sensation I call thought. But, if so, how can I trust my own thinking to be true? It's like upsetting a milk jug and hoping that the way it splashes itself will give you a map of London. But if I can't trust my own thinking, of course I can't trust the arguments leading to Atheism, and therefore have no reason to be an Atheist, or anything else. Unless I believe in God, I cannot believe in thought: so I can never use thought to disbelieve in God."
-C.S. Lewis
The Case for Christianity, pg. 32
It is healthy to question, to speculate. I believe that to question means to care; questioning=passion. There is an argument that people who believe in God just follow blindly, like sheep. I think the same can be said for many who don't believe. The blindly disbelieve.
So good, Laura! " It's like upsetting a milk jug and hoping that the way it splashes itself will give you a map of London." C.S. Lewis is a metaphorical master!