“There is a difference of digging deep into scripture, and dangerously picking out random words or verses that fit your worldview.
If you’re reading or proclaiming a new view that no one is seeing or has seen before, it’s probably not a good one. We have 2000 years of church history to help guide us. We have hundreds of reputable commentaries and commentators to walk beside. We have councils and creeds and wisdom from generations before and up to present day.
We tend to be drawn to the fantastical, the cryptic; we love the codes and conspiracy. We chase after the gnostic secret knowledge that God has revealed to only a select few. This is dangerous. It’s foolhardy. And It will leave us titling at windmills and searching for “treasure” that doesn’t exist.”
Aaron Duvall
I read this the other day and shared it on Facebook. There is great wisdom in this post. When it comes to the Christian faith we must remember one of the greatest claims we hold: God’s Spirit has long been at work in the life of God’s imperfect people for the sake of God’s world and God’s dream to bring all things together in Christ.
As we work out our faith in a 2021 North American context (or wherever you are), it’s important to remember that we stand on the shoulders of 2000 years of faith filled with people who adored the Lord. Some have been faithful, some have been unfaithful, but God was always working to redeem all beliefs, doctrines, and actions along the way. In the end, and in every moment in-between, God is faithful. As Paul once said to the young pastor Timothy:
11 This is a trustworthy saying:
For if we died with him,
2 Timothy 2:11-13
we will also live with him;
12 if we endure, we will also reign with him;
if we deny him, he will also deny us;
13 if we are faithless, he remains faithful,
for he cannot deny himself.
As we live in what some call a post-truth age and seek to faithfully bear witness to the love of God in the reign of Christ, let Paul’s “trustworthy saying” bring us hope.
We press on.
Long Way Here 