The Pure Delight in Obedience

In reading Geerhardus Vos this morning (Biblical Theology, pg 32), I came across this little gem:

To do the good and reject the evil from a reasoned insight into their respective natures is a noble thing, but it is a still nobler thing to do so out of regard for the nature of God, and the noblest thing of all is the ethical strength, which, when required, will act from personal attachment to God, without for the moment enquiring into these more abstruse reasons. The pure delight in obedience adds to the ethical value of a choice.

This quote comes in the context of Vos' discussion on the choice before Adam and Eve and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. The choice before them, in its most basic form, was not truly to eat or not eat, but to choose their Creator over even their own perceived good. Theirs was not to reason themselves to obedience, but to obey out of the pure delight of conforming to the will of their Creator.

I can't help but reflect on our own tendency, especially in the church in America, to forget this in favor of our supposed rights. Whether overtly or subtly, I'm afraid that all too often we forget that God deserves our obedience even when we don't understand or can't reason ourselves into following His revealed will. Too often we tell God, consciously or subconsciously, that He will have to be patient and wait for us to decide whether or not obedience "makes sense" in the given context. We treat Him more like a lame duck president than the Sovereign King that He is.

Father, forgive us, your children, for our obstinacy and the hubris with which we all too often approach your commands. May we see the reasonableness of your instruction, but obey instead for the pure delight of our personal attachment to you.

Isn't it a bit ironic?

I heard a commercial on the way into work this morning on the radio. They were advertising a pill to help cure you of your addiction to...wait for it...pills! I'm just wondering who will invent the pill to help you get off the pills that got you off the pills!

Memorial Day

What a great Memorial Day! We spent the day lounging (see above pic!) at my parents' house around the pool. It was a warm day in Texas and the pool felt nice. I knocked out a few more pages of reading in Berkhof. But much more important than that, Ian learned to ride a bike! We haven't been in a neighborhood that was good for bike riding. Ian had a bike, but it was at my parents. We tried to teach him to ride last year, but a hard spill ended that session. But 5 minutes of work this morning and he was riding like a champ. He even went on a bike ride with my dad around the block!

We're getting ready to sit around the table out back and eat some burgers and fries. I hope your Memorial Day has been as laid back as ours!

Home Sweet Home

We just got back last night from a great weekend in Nashville where we met some members of the class I'll be teaching in my new position. We also spent Friday looking for a home in Nashville. We found something far better than we expected. It's a home built in the 1930's just 5 minutes from the church in the Green Hills area. There is an amazing YMCA just a few minutes up the road and a great shopping district as well. We've wanted to live where we work and play for sometime now, and it looks as though we'll get to do that in Nashville! We had a wonderful time of worship on Sunday and met a few folks that are friends of friends. The PCA is a small world and I'm really enjoying just how easy it is to find connections to friends from all over.

Just a few more weeks and we'll be packing and driving out! We couldn't be more excited. In addition to the transition, my thoughts are turning more and more to my ministry at Covenant and preparing for ordination in the Fall.

More News on the GA Front

There have been 3 more Overtures to the General Assembly regarding the issue of women being ordained as deacons. In addition to Overture 9 from the Phildelphia Presbytery mentioned in my previous post, Western Canada (Overture 15) has essentially concurred with the Overture 9, and Rocky Mountain (Overture 17) has requested that the scope be extended (if Overture 9 is approved) to a broader discussion of the role of women in church. Also, Central Georgia has responded (Overture 19) to the first two (9 and 15) by requesting that no committee be formed. The language of this overture is especially strong, indicating that the churches of Central Georgia see no need to visit this issue. It may turn out to be a considerable discussion this year after all.

In other overtures, I think my favorite so far this year is Overture 3 from Southeast Alabama Presbytery. This overture seeks to amend the BCO in order to correct language that would seem to imply that transfering to a non-PCA church requires an act of church discipline. It also (and this is the part I like) requests that the BCO be amended to include the Apostle's Creed in the membership vows, noting that there is no trinitarian statement or confession required for membership in the PCA at this point.

And finally, there are some names emerging for moderator that are interesting. North Texas Presbytery's own Rev. David Clelland is mentioned, as well as Dr. O. Palmer Robertson, Dr. Tom Kay, and Dr. Paul Kooistra.

While I'm happy to update you on these things and plan to continue doing so, I get most my information from following the overtures on the PCA website as well as by subscription to byFaith Magazine online.

Prince Caspian by Any Other Name

I reread CS Lewis' Prince Caspian last night in anticipation of taking my son to the movie this afternoon. It's such a wonderfully simple and well-told tale, I had no doubt Hollywood would struggle to tell it. Taken from a purely cinematic point of view, the movie is well done. Better, in fact, than The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. It still suffers from shallow characters that are not well-developed. The story feels rushed a bit, for some reason. And despite this, it is nearly an hour longer than it needs to be. But all in all, it isn't a bad way to spend nearly two and a half hours.

Of course, with such a literary classic, it's difficult to take it merely on its cinematic merits. As an adaptation of a classic work, it fails miserably. One of the tag lines for the movie is "Everything you know is about to change forever." In fact, it did. Everything I knew about the book changed in the movie. As a great fan of classic literature, and one who enjoys (in general) screen adaptations, I am not oblivious to the various problems that virtually require screenwriters to change some stuff up. But in the case of this movie, virtually everything changed. In fact, there is an entire 30 minute battle sequence that never even occurred in the book. Characters were portrayed precisely contrary to the book. For example, in the book, High King Peter is very sensitive to the fact that while he is High King, the current King is in fact Caspian. Caspian, likewise, recognizes the pre-eminence of Peter and submits gladly to his authority. In the movie, each is jealous of the other's authority. Each blames the other for failures. And in the end they draw swords and are ready to engage in mortal combat. Aslan is more absent in the movie than he is in the book. Details are scattered willy-nilly throughout the movie with no apparent pattern. In fact, almost nothing is left in place. With very few exceptions, all details shared in common between book and film are dislocated in the movie. The result is a deeply disappointing adaptation. Readers will grant license, but in the end, they want to see the characters they read about. The Peter of this film is not CS Lewis' creation. In fact, he is quite contrary to the Peter that the readers of Narnia have come to love. Susan, whose unbelief is obvious in the book and is a foreshadowing of her absence in The Last Battle, is far too optimistic in the film. They even added an awkward love interest story line between her and Caspian. It's a shame, too. The book should adapt very well to film. There is much action and plenty of time to develop characters within the framework of the book. Lewis' writing is a goldmine of CGI sequences that should have kept the folks at Weta, et al, busy for years. Instead, very few of these opportunities are taken advantage of (such as the dancing tree sequence in Lucy's dream).

So as a film (apart from its literary origins) I'd give it a 3.5/5. This is about the same or perhaps a small improvement over the film adaptation of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. However, as a Lewis fan and avid reader of the Chronicles I have to give it a 2/5. I'd call that strike two.

Home For Sale

We're scheduling packers and the house is on the market. Anyone looking for a 3 bed/2 bath with office? Nice big privacy fence in the back with in-ground sprinkler system, covered back patio with an outdoor ceiling fan. Quiet neighborhood with no crime and neighbors that are easy to get along with. Send me a note. We're ready to sell!

Battle at Kruger

Ok folks. In case you fit into that group of people that both reads this blog and HASN'T seen the Battle at Kruger video, check this out. It's eight minutes of pretty amazing footage from Africa. Trust me, you will enjoy this.

An Update

Things are on track. We've been working hard the past two and a half weeks to get our house ready to list and we should actually put it on the market this week! We moved in with my parents to avoid having to clean the house over and over. I'm working to find movers to schedule and contract for the move. We'll pack out on the 23rd of June. Things at the office are continuing as usual. I'll be preaching vespers tomorrow night and leading my last Caruth Haven (assisted living center) worship service this Sunday.

GA is just around the corner and I'm trying to make sure I get at least a little time with friends that will be in town for the meeting. I'm also trying to get the last few items checked off to officially complete my internship.

Leslie has almost certainly secured a job for Nashville. More on that when things are official.

God has been incredibly gracious to us these past few months. Of course, we are always living in His grace, but just in case we didn't give it much thought, He has heaped so many blessings on us. It has had an interesting effect in my studies. You know how when things are bad...nothing is going your way. You are pretty sure you're "living right" and yet nothing seems to be going right. You start feeling like maybe you know how Job felt (no matter how light your affliction). It is common in such times to find yourself (if your response is a healthy one) seeking the peace and solace, encouragement and comfort of Jesus Christ and the gospel, and in the presence of sweet fellowship with brothers and sisters in Christ. Well, my circumstances feel more like Job before the affliction. And here is the interesting part...I find myself reacting in exactly the opposite fashion. Instead of thinking encouraging thoughts, I find myself drawn to thoughts and meditation on the goodness of God apart from his mercies toward us. Does that make sense? I find myself studying the Scripture to gain a greater understanding of Christian suffering. My thoughts in preparation for teaching are bent on reminding the faithful (and we in America are generally a very blessed faithful) that if all the good things go away tomorrow, God is still God. He is still righteous. He still loves His children.

As one that has, as a rule, received abundant good things from the Father for my whole life, I am afraid, and I fear for the church, that we have subconsciously linked the goodness of our God with the goodness of His gifts. This is so dangerous. We are not promised dream jobs, beautiful houses, sporty cars, iPods, etc. These things aren't bad. And this isn't a post about materialism. Perhaps I can clarify that by using family as an example instead. We are not promised a beautiful spouse. We are not promised beautiful, obedient, healthy children. If we have them it is a wonderful blessing from God. If we lose them, God is still God. He is still righteous. He still loves His children.

I am keen to remind myself of these things. My faith has never been tested in this way. And if it should ever be tested this way, I hope to remember (another theme I have been thinking about lately) this truth. And I hope brothers and sisters around me will lovingly remind me of this truth. I want to love God Himself more than the gifts He gives me. That's a subtle distinction when you stop to think about it. But it makes all the difference in the world.

On Calvin and Free Will

OK, so the title to this post is a bit misleading. But you can't be more confused than the theologically astute visitor that arrives at Calvin Free Will Baptist Church on any given Sunday morning. My fellow intern, Jay Bennett, and I caravaned to Presbytery in Tulsa this past weekend. I knew Calvin, Oklahoma was along the way so we planned a stop to get this picture. Other interesting place names along the way (that I didn't take pictures of) were Toots BBQ and Double Vision Liquor. There was also this recently constructed building out in the middle of nowhere. It was a big box shaped thing with a portico on the front with huge columns all the way across the front. In what had to be 24 inch block letters across the front it simply said "God's House." I wish I had stopped to snap a shot of that one.