Wow

July 19, 2006

I mean really, where do we go after that little nugget from 1 Kings?!  Just a light theological lesson there, huh?  And you know what may be even more breathtaking than the fact that God does this is that 99% (maybe an overstatement, I don’t know?) of evangelical Christians read that passage and just ignore it. ”That is not possible,”  they reason, “that God could ordain that an act happen and then judge the person for doing the thing that He had ordained.”  And they elevate their own finite, fallen, human logic over the infallible Word of God.  That is breathtaking, in a horribly shocking way! 

When I consider the story that you just wrote about (and you are certainly right in saying there are several examples of this throughout God’s Word), I can think of only one verse: “God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel, ‘I am has sent me to you.’ ”” (Ex. 3:14).  God is who He is, and nobody’s opinion of what He should and shouldn’t do really makes any difference. 

Anyway, the real reason I was planning to write (before I got floored by your 1 Kings meditation) was to salute my brother in Christ on his 27th birthday.  This is posted on the Crispin family blog, but I thought I would also publish it here (with one minor modification) since I know our readership here is so vastly different than that of the family blog!  Erin had asked us to think of a word to describe Joe and then write a few sentences on why that word describes him.  This is what I wrote:

 FRUITFUL
A couple of weeks ago I (Larry) found this quote from John Piper:

“O for more fruitful people! You know them. They are refreshing and nourishing to be around. You go away from them fed. You go away strengthened. You go away with your taste for spiritual things awakened. Their mouth is a fountain of life. Their words are healing and convicting and encouraging and deepening and enlightening. Being around them is like a meal.”

So the word we would use to best describe you is the word “Fruitful”, because there is no one else in our lives who consistently serves up a spiritual feast the way you do. Thanks for not filling us with triviality, but always bringing us back to the One Thing that we need most: Jesus.

I trust that anyone who’s reading this can bear witness that these words are indeed true of Joe, and for that I am very grateful to God.   May all of us strive to point all who encounter us to the thing they need most: Jesus Christ.  Thanks, Joe, for doing it so consistently.  You are far from perfect brother (as you well know), but you certainly are striving hard to enter by the narrow gate.

By His Grace,

Larry

Posted by Larry | Filed Under Uncategorized 

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