Happy Friday
When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust and am not afraid. What can mere mortals do to me? Record my misery; list my tears on your scroll—are they not in your record? Then my enemies will turn back when I call for help. By this I will know that God is for me. (Ps. 56)
God is nothing like the Unmoved Mover or passionless First Cause envisioned by the Greeks. He reveals himself as a loving Father who knows the number of hairs on our head, hears our prayers and sings lullabies over us as we sleep. Psalm 56 (above) tells us that he knows the number of tears you have cried.
Brexit: I’ve been at Oxford and Cambridge this week. The level of political turmoil here is no less chaotic than on our side of the pond. I’ve not paid enough attention to have an opinion on what will happen as they march towards the deadline. I generally find myself feeling sorry for Brits on both sides. But then, they keep serving me freeze-dried coffee. Maybe they deserve this.
Leaning Left? Right? Affluent? Other: I found this piece by David Leonhardt a helpful addition to the conversation about media bias, although I think I see his biases as he writes about biases. Why am I the only one who is able to be objective?
From Self-Sacrifice to Self-Centered: In spite of how often it occurs throughout the Old Testament, and as a reoccurring theme in the New, a growing number of Christians oppose the “substitutionary view of the atonement.” Some because they are put off by the blood. But some, perhaps, because they are put off by sacrifice. Prior to the 1950s, sacrifice was almost always celebrated as a virtue in American society. But around then we became a predominately consumer society and personal satisfaction came to replace personal sacrifice as the universal virtue. Rather than surrendering our desires for the good of others, our society was reoriented with another message: Surrendering your desires is a form of self-betrayal, and anyone expecting you to sacrifice is oppressing your rights. Today this exaltation of the self is seen equally on the political Left and Right in America.
It’s Official: I’ve spent the last six weeks reading and writing on the fundamentals of the faith, and I can now say that it’s true. On every topic you can think of, the best quotes come from C.S. Lewis.
A Day Late: I realize, Valentine’s Day has come and gone, but I couldn’t pass on this: according to the National Retail Federation, Americans will spend 20 billion dollars on Valentine’s Day this year, which is over $160 a person. Valentine’s pet spending is expected to be 886 Million.
Quoted Worth Requoting: Loneliness is inner emptiness. Solitude is inner fulfillment. Richard Foster (not C.S. Lewis, but a pretty good quote!)
Surprised by Good: One of the topics I have been reading up on while in Oxford is evil. It can be depressing fare, but has not been. It’s limited. Just think how unprepared the forces of darkness were for Jesus. They could not understand self-sacrifice of any kind, especially His. By the way, J.R.R. Tolkien was making this point in Lord of the Rings when he had Frodo – a small, weak Hobbit – successfully destroy the ring by marching right into Mordor and throwing it away. Sauron was unprepared for that.
Closing Prayer: Let us then rejoice in this grace, so that our glorying may bear witness to our good conscience by which we glory, not in ourselves but in the Lord. That is why Scripture says, “He is my glory, the one who lifts up my head.” For what greater grace could God have made to dawn on us than to make his only Son become the Son of man, so that human beings might in their turn become children and heirs of God? Ask if this were merited; ask for its reason, for its justification, and whether you will find any other answer but sheer grace.
Augustine (354-430)