“It is only when I see what God is doing with the world through Christ, and for the glory of Christ, that I am able to see where I fit in the big storyline of the universe or in the little storyline of my own life.
The Apostle Paul’s words to the Romans are familiar passages of comfort for believers. ‘And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose’ (Rom 8:28). This verse does not mean, however, simply a cheery ‘What doesn’t kill you’ll make you stronger; hang in there.’ Instead, Paul says that the believer’s little story ultimately is a glorious one because it is part of a larger story, that I may be ‘conformed to the image of His Son, that He may be the firstborn among many brothers’ (Rom 8:29).
How do I know that my story ends happily? I only know this if I am found in Christ. But, if I am, then like all my forefathers and foremothers before me, I am free from condemnation, liberated from the curse, triumphant over death, the heir of the universe, the child of God in whom He is well pleased.”
—Russell Moore, “Beyond a Veggie Tales Gospel: Why We Must Preach Christ from Every Text”
Great quote! I love your blog, by the way. Keep up the good work.
That was good for me to read this morning. I’m on my way out to visit my dad in the hospital and will face opposition. Our family is divided along gospel lines. For some reason the unbelievers dislike and oppose those who confess Christ as Savior. Gee, just like it says in the Word. But, all the same, I do have a little part to play in God’s drama.
[...] Every text of Scripture–Old or New Testaments–is thus about Jesus, precisely because, at the end of the day, everything in reality is about Jesus. Why is there something instead of nothing? Why are human beings religious? Why do people want food and water and sex and community? Why are there galaxies and quasars and blue whales and local churches? God is creating all that is for His heir, for the glory of Jesus Christ. When you see through Jesus, you see the interpretive grid through which all of reality makes sense. What Moore applies to preaching can also be applied to teaching biblical worldview. Those of us who ballyhoo the biblical worldview can come dangerously close to the error of the Pharisees to whom Jesus said “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about Me, yet you refuse to come to Me that you may have life” (John 5:39-40). Could He not just as easily say to us “You study the Scriptures so that you might develop a biblical worldview, and it is they that bear witness about Me, the key to interpreting all of reality; yet you fail to see Me in every text and sometimes are willing to build a worldview apart from believing in and becoming like Me”? We want the Bible to shape the way we look at the world, but our view of the Word is too often Christ-less and cross-less. Jesus Christ crucified is the lens through which we truly make sense of God’s Word and world (1 Corinthians 1:20-25). With all the talk about biblical worldview, we must remember that our worldview is not biblical unless it is also cruciform. [HT: Of First Importance] [...]