Before I get into this beautiful chapter, I need to say a few words, as I did on my post No 2. I have received private comments that some of my posts seem to imply something which theologians call 'universalism'. I haven't received any theological training myself, and so I shall have to find out what this is all about; but my critic defined it as believing that all will be saved irrespective of their faith in the work of Christ.
Some men have the cast of mind to get very interested in abstract debates like this: but I don't. I am intuitive, I think. I do apply my rational mind to the revelations God has given, and is giving, us; but it is a secondary activity. What has been given to me by God, whether it is written in the Bible or spoken to me now or expressed as a sign in daily life or is a glimpse of His mystery in His creation, I try to keep my heart and mind spaces open to the raw reality of it; and I consciously control the desire to select only the bits which fit into what I already understand. A wise retired pastor, emailing encouragement to me a few days ago, wrote: "It's a given that you can't adequately describe God in human terms."
So, when God speaks to me about His unconditional love, which I can see has emerged as my major theme this past fortnight, I give that my rapt attention. I examine my heart's response and I listen to more that the Spirit is waiting to say to me about it - a meditation and a conversation. Then, when I meditate on other truths He speaks of, I try to do so with His unconditional love always lodged in my heart and mind; because St John has revealed to us that "God is love" (1 John 4:16). The astonishing simplicity of those words is one of those 'high level' truths which we see Jesus organising His teaching around on at least two occasions (Matthew 7:12 and 22:40). This is why in my first post I wrote: 'Whatever His wrath means, we know that love is His abiding and defining attribute - they aren't opposites. God doesn't stop loving, to be wrathful. Clearly, like God's love itself, his wrath lies outside all categories of human experience.'
I couldn't possibly be a 'universalist' because Jesus repeatedly warned us that a terrible and unalterable fate waits for those who reject the goodness, the love, the compassion for others, the wholesomeness, the peace of heart, the humility, the justice, the mercy, which is God. Jesus would not have issued these warnings if, in fact, noone would ever suffer this fate. But what I can't do, is to let this fact qualify or lessen the truth of God's unconditional love for us all. If our rational, 'either / or', ways of thinking balk at this, well, there's nothing I can do about that. Ultimate Reality, the Kingdom of God, lies beyond all human categories of thought and perception. It is possible for us to contemplate it; but only mystically.
This leaves me with little space and time to add anything to what Piper has written! I'll just share one thing which has been precious to me for some years, and it fits today's theme well. Galatians 2:20 is one of St Paul's most important insights, written in my NIV like this: "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." I took a look at the Greek, and saw that the second part can be translated differently: "The life I live in the body, I live by the faithfulness of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." This way of putting it accords better with my experience and other related scriptures. The faith I have is His gift, and it's His faithfulness which keeps me safe in Him. If it was only my faith, I doubt I could keep that up.
We always have to remember that faith is the gift of God. I think the NIV translation holds up as long as we remember that. And if we forget it, we're in serious trouble anyway. In a sense, one could say it's dangerous ever to talk about 'my faith' as though it were our property, not God's.
ReplyDelete