You might have noticed by now that this blog of mine goes in spurts. For awhile you get splashes of photos of the beauty in the midst of the busy days. Nothing too earth shattering, really.
But all the while, the thoughts are turning around in my head, and you know that one of these days, out will come the words. Oh, it is nothing to fear. Unless you haven't had your coffee yet, and then you will just click along your merry way. Lately there has been percolating going on.
I am doing two book study groups right now. One is
Surprised by Hope by N.T. Wright, and the other is
King's Cross by Timothy Keller. Each of them is tons of food for thought, but together, they are amazing! They both express many of the very same truths that I needed to challenge me, from similar, yet very unique perspectives. Of course, the fact that they both came at the same time had nothing to do with any human planning. But the plan for me to be doing them together is unmistakably a gift from God.
I wish I could even begin to share the richness with you of the ways the two of them together have clarified my thinking, but I am not there yet. One quote from Timothy Keller sums up the three perspectives that both books speak to in depth:
"The gospel does not say, 'the good are in and the bad are out,' nor, 'the open-minded are in and the judgmental are out.' The gospel says, 'The humble are in and the proud are out.'"
This is such very good news for all of us. I hope I will have more to share as we wrap up in the weeks ahead. God is so good to give us what he knows we need!
I highly recommend
King's Cross to anyone at all. It's a breathtaking look at the life of Jesus through the gospel of Mark.
Surprised by Hope is a tougher, more academic read, but it would follow
King's Cross perfectly for anyone who wanted to dig even deeper.
