Blown Away

I've been reading Packer and Dever's In My Place Condemned He Stood. With every page I am kicking myself: Why didn't I read this book 15 years ago?

Well it wasn't around, but Packer's essay contained in the book "What did the Cross Achieve?" has been around for decades.

Throughout my ministry I've tried really hard to avoid being one of these know-it-all theological types, because its so easy to make other people feel inferior who haven't had as much exposure to certain things.

But I have to say, I have been a Christian since 1989, and have tried to apply myself to understanding this faith I have embraced. This journey has led me to seminary, and now the pursuit of a doctorate. But in all of that, I am still moved to tears as I am reading through Packer's essay. I am discovering Jesus in a way I never have.

If you are able to get a hold of this book, please do. It is not easy reading, and anyone who says it is, is not honest. But there are some works that are worth fighting through, reading and re-reading until the message begins to become clear.

I brought this book with me when I traveled to Oregon to bury my grandfather. Next to the Bible, this book is what got me through that experience. While I did not supress my grief at his service (I was actually quite a mess, and I questioned whether I should have even officiated the service) I was able to have a sense peace and conviction about his passing that I have never experienced in my life.

It shouldn't be so strange that objective theological concepts would provide such a deep comfort in times of sorrow. I remember listening to a friend of mine who had lost his wife tell Wayne Grudem that the only thing that got him through his wife's death was Grudem's Systematic Theology, most specifically the chapter on Heaven.

I guess what hits me is this: eternity is a long time. It's probably worth figuring out the how and the why of life while I'm here on Earth, even if it takes me a little time. And if I'm created in the image of God, then the knowledge of him and his ways should be the most amazing and fulfilling realizations of life.

Just thinking...