The Master's Key

 By Justin Gray

We are all in jail and forgiveness is like God's master key. 

This key frees us from the imprisonment of God, the offenses of others, and also frees those whom we have imprisoned for our unjust treatment.

However, the greatest difficulty is remembering that we are all guilty and begin in the same prison. When our chains are broken and the cell doors are flung open to us, our first instinct is to run free..."Hooray, I've been forgiven!!" I'm sure you would agree that it would be rather shameful to ignore the desperate clamoring of the other inmates as you escape with the key.

Herein lies the struggle. As we make a hasty exit from this dreadful bondage, there are some prisoners we deem more worthy of freedom than others, although we know all should be freed.

So to be honest, sometimes we are moved with compassion to forgive and in other instances we are compelled by bias. Jesus said "For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you." (Matt 6:14) I enjoy my freedom, so I must remember to always give away the Master's key.

Mirror, Mirror On The Wall

By Justin


But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing. (James 1:22-25 ESV)

Mirrors are reflective surfaces which provide a clear image of an object...or at least they should. 

Daily we arise from our beds; groom and dress ourselves with the aid of this reflective surface and some are more meticulous than others in this practice.  When a person looks in the mirror they are not only seeing what they are in the moment, but also comparing themselves to an acceptable visual standard. 

For example: I fix my neck tie because I know instinctively that it can and should be straight.  I do this not only because I want the appearance of the tie to meet my standard, but because others will see that it is crooked if I don't fix it. 

So the mirror is constantly telling us something of what we think about ourselves and what we think others can or will think about us.  However, mirrors are shallow in that they only reflect what we see of ourselves, but they don't provide us with the standard by which to judge what we actually see. 

When I look in the mirror I see myself compared to what I think I should be. The mirror doesn't tell me what I should be, it only helps me to see what I am now.  Wouldn't it be nice to have a mirror that not only allowed you and I to see who we are in the moment, but also provided us the image of who we should be.  The Word of God is such a surface. 

Each God breathed page acts as a mirror to our souls.  Every smudge, every blot and blemish is clearly reflected to us, but never without the clear image of our redemption. This image of redemption is not only spiritual but physical and psychological, because the true condition of our inner appearance is the source of how we perceive our outer appearance. 

The mirror in my bedroom can tell me that my tie is crooked, but only the mirror in God's throne room can show me that my heart is crooked and only Christ can straighten it out.  

Simply put, the mirror for the eyes is no good without the mirror for the soul.  May we incline ourselves to reflect upon God's Word, so that Christ might be reflected in all we are and all we do.

The Movie Theater Massacre & The Problem of Pain

By Justin Gray         


On July 20, 2012 a young man entered a crowded movie theater in Aurora, Colorado and opened fire on the audience. During this violent episode, seventy people were shot and 12 were killed. The effects of this tragedy were felt throughout the United States by loved ones and observers alike.

In C.S. Lewis' book The Problem of Pain, he seeks to answer the question so many people have asked in similar moments of crisis: "If an all-loving, all-powerful God exists, then why is there suffering in the world?”

In an attempt to satisfy this question many people assume the following: 1) that God is not loving, and therefore either indifferent and even possibly evil, or 2) he is not all-powerful and therefore impotent in dealing with human suffering. 

In the opening passage of Chapter 2 Lewis states:

"...if God is wiser than we His judgment must differ from ours on many things...What seems to us to be good may therefore not be good in His eyes, and what seems to us evil may not be evil."
Could it be that our concept of good and evil is so divergent from God's standard that we are completely out of touch with the true essence of these concepts? Lewis goes on to discuss several factors that help to unstick a seemingly sticky issue.

In terms of our understanding of good and evil, in order for any semblance of true good to exist in our world God must accommodate Himself to our reality. 

It would be wholly improper for God to leave us barren of any moral point of reference, so He has peppered throughout humanity certain exemplary qualities consistent with His nature. These qualities prompt us to make a distinction between inferior and superior moral standards.

"...a man of inferior moral standards enters the society of those who are better and wiser than he and gradually learns to accept their standards" (Lewis) 

It is precisely this phenomenon that proves existentially that man is aware of his inadequacies and tries to move in the direction of a more acceptable moral standard.

However, in the case of the Colorado gunman his rejection of such a standard stands in stark contrast to Lewis' assertion. If we are all prone to conform to the standards of those who are better and wiser, then how could someone blatantly violate such a common inclination?

Upon further analysis, it would seem that the answer is found in God's gift to humanity of free moral choice.

Experiencing divine goodness, as Lewis posits, would not be possible unless a man was irrevocably endowed with the ability to choose for himself which standards to follow. God would be unjust if he through absolute force, or subversive manipulation, constrained humanity to actions only consistent with His will.

Man must be free in order for love to be pure- for true goodness to be experienced.

Consequently, if man is ever to experience God's love he must endure the challenge of becoming lovable which is itself a great pain.

Unfortunately, moral autonomy is a blade that cuts both ways.

If man is free to choose, then it is possible for him not to choose the more acceptable moral standard. However, the freedom of man, is not a freedom from rules, but provides the possibility for one to agree to the terms of an all-loving God. 

The Colorado gunman, in a moment, chose to reject God's terms of grace, kindness, charity and the value of human life in order to satisfy his own desires. His murderous binge, was against the natural order of things and consequently against God. This is what Lewis suggests as the essence of human wickedness.

"God is good...he made all things good and for the sake of their goodness; that one of the good things He made, namely, the free will of rational creatures, by its very nature included the possibility of evil; and the creatures, availing themselves of this possibility, have become evil." (Lewis)

In other words, true freedom includes the possibility of injury to the one through whom freedom is given. Every day we walk a forked path, which demands a decision:

Right? or left?

Right? or wrong?

We may wish to redefine 'right' and 'left' for ourselves, but despite our frantic shuffling of the cups God always knows under which one the ball lies. On this road called life, right and left are permanent, just as good and evil- and God has made it so.



Works Cited

ABC NEWS on the internet. Colorado Movie Theater Shooting: Suspect Bought 4 Guns, 6,000 Rounds of Ammunition in Past 60 Days. http://abcnews.go.com/US/colorado-movie-theater-shooting-suspect-bought-guns-6000/story?id=16817842

Lewis, C.S. The Problem of Pain. New York: HarperCollins. 1940. Print.

Biblical Worldview

 By Justin Gray

“As a man thinks in his heart, so is he” (Proverbs 23:7, NIV)

 

The “heart” in this context can be defined as the mind, will, and emotions of a person.  I believe that this is the domain where a worldview ultimately develops.  

 

I would define a biblical worldview as: perceiving reality by general experience, knowledge, and faith through the Word of God as revealed in the person of Jesus Christ.

 

Scripture sets forth Jesus as the ultimate revelation of God to humanity and the incarnation of God’s word.  Faith in this reality is the starting point of a sound biblical worldview.  

Furthermore, one's biblical worldview is affected by understanding God’s plan of redemption as unfolded throughout history. This is vital in the process of the Holy Spirit reorienting our minds. Instead of continuing in a detached, self-absorbed, darkened, and ultimately meaningless existence; the truth as revealed in Scripture transforms us to life, purpose, and community in the kingdom of God.  
 

Paul speaks concerning this shift in worldview when he writes to the church at Ephesus:

 

“...remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.” (Ephesians 2:11-13, NIV) 
 

This premise gives us a precedent for how we should think, and consequently how we should live.  However, this is just the beginning of the process.

 

Again, Paul writes in Romans 12:2:

 

“Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.  Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will."

 

This passage implies that right thinking is not immediately produced in its fullness, but is a process in which a person actively participates. Therefore, every Christian is largely responsible for the condition of their mind and ultimately their worldview.

Reflecting upon my own past Christian experience I see a life littered with inconsistent beliefs and actions. The moral discontinuity of my past, although consistent with the human condition, has been dark and deeply troubling. 

Growing up in church as a child, 'truth' was relegated to what my mother or grandmother said.  Playing basketball in the gymnasium and taking a nap in the balcony were my favorite parts of the worship service.  With no anchor for my soul, it was relatively easy to be led astray. 

My worldview was not founded in the Word of Truth, but in the whims of people and my own situational reasoning. 

God’s goodness was usually based on how good my life seemed at the moment.  I forgave offenses as long as I deemed the person as deserving, and I looked at the world through my “religious glasses” only on Sunday. 

This was to my detriment. 

I discovered some years later that anything resembling good moral character was quickly eroding and many lies were necessary to maintain my duplicitous way of life. 

In my early twenties I turned to Christ and as I began to grow in my relationship with the Lord, my worldview began to change.  It was still skewed, but slowly evolving. 

I can distinctly remember times when my perception of the world around me was still not quite what I would call “biblical".  I continued to struggle with the false perception that my “sacred” and “secular” life were irreconcilable.

In addition, I had little knowledge of God’s activity throughout history and in other cultures.  Most unsettling was my lack of understanding in how my faith applied to the seemingly mundane matters of everyday life.

However, today by the grace of God I have a much clearer understanding of a sound biblical worldview.  This has been shaped by the significance of the gospel message and its implications for both spiritual and practical life.  My thinking has further been affected by being able to identify the remaining vestiges of other worldviews at work in my life and the surrounding culture.  

Not to be glib, but I believe that there are many worldviews (including thoses of some Christians) that can be classified as either lies or a rejection of the truth. 

And I speak from experience, as one whose boots were often muddied while sojourning the path of darkness. Even now I still find the lens through which I see things to be quite a bit hazy. But what clarity I do enjoy I dare not place to my credit, for it is in the light of the gospel that I bask and only to Christ that I owe my deepest gratitude.

As I observe American culture, much like Paul in Athens, I am indeed grieved at our superstitious Western way of life.  The god of the West is truly a god of our own making; created in our own image.  Some may call it ‘moralistic therapeutic deism’, but it is nothing more than an anthropomorphism of the worst kind; a god gumbo made with the ingredients of culture and the recipes of men.  

I, like many, have stood in line to taste of this concoction and cleaned my plate only to be hungrily dissatisfied.  Much like the ‘turkish delights’ in C.S. Lewis’ The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, we insatiably desire to be consumers and adopters of we know not what until it almost kills us.

In a culture pervaded by moral subjectivity, there is a great need to revive the ontological depth of Christianity.  In many ways, the privatization of faith and commercialization of the church has reduced our spiritual heritage to sound bites and social media. 

Not many think critically about what they believe or how the implications of their beliefs affect others. Now, at the age of 32, I can say that by seeking to know Christ through the careful study of scripture and the writings of men like Lewis, Tozer, Packer and others, I have come to understand more deeply what it means to truly have a biblical worldview.  I am confident that as my perspective continues to expand the foundation of my life will be securely based upon the truth; in the Word of God.

A Brief Review of Worldviews

By Justin Gray


Christian Theism

Traditionally, the main features of Christian theism are as follows: God is infinite, personal, transcendent, omniscient, sovereign and good. The implications of these propositions provide a framework for the Christian narrative. The overarching story of the Christian faith can be described in the following historical epochs: creation, the fall, redemption and glorification.

The Bible is considered the Word of God and is not exhaustive when addressing God’s interaction throughout history, but is comprehensive in providing an understanding of who God is and how He has revealed Himself.

Generally speaking, according to Christian theism most significant among God’s qualities is His goodness expressed in holiness and love.

“God’s goodness means then, first, that there is an absolute standard of righteousness (it is found in God’s character) and, second, that there is hope for humanity (because God is love and will not abandon His creation).” (Sire)

Upon these truths hinge both morality and purpose which is binding upon all humanity. Adam and Eve, the original man and woman, sinned against God by disobeying His command and from this point the very essence of humanity was marred, this is referred to as the fall. Due to the demands of God's nature, from the time of the fall mankind has been implicitly separated from God and without hope in the world.

However, the love of God has been extended toward humanity in the person of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

"Our role is to respond by repentance for our wrong attitudes and acts, to accept God's provisions and to follow Christ as Lord as well as Savior." (Sire)

Furthermore, the consummation of our redemption will happen in conjunction with the bodily resurrection at Christ's future return to earth. Redemption in its fullness will purge the creation of sin and its effects, and will renew every facet of humanity and this world that God created.

Deism

The Deist views the universe as a sophisticated clockwork mechanism. Within this worldview are two streams of thought, warm and cold deism, which both concede the existence of God but differ in terms of His continued involvement in the universe.

The warm deist posits a semi-personal God who has set the activities of nature in motion but is largely uninvolved. He can be understood through the natural order by exercise of “God-given” reason.

The cold deist embraces a view that: “...eliminates most features of personality God is said to display. He is only a transcendent force or energy, a Prime Mover or First Cause, a beginning to the otherwise infinite regress of past causes.” (Sire)

These views differ starkly from a Christian biblical worldview in that Christ is the ultimate self-disclosure of God; the exact representation of His activity and personality in human history.

Naturalism (Materialism)

Naturalism as a worldview was spawned as scientific discovery slowly gave way to the elevation of autonomous human reason above conceptions of God. Over time, piety was exchanged for pragmatism and the existence of God was supplanted by probing the mysteries of nature.

The nature of the cosmos became the primary subject of investigation: "...with an eternal Creator God out of the picture, the cosmos itself becomes eternal- always there though not in its present form, in fact certainly not in its present form." (Sire)

From this premise it would follow that because the cosmos is self-existent then the universe is a closed system.

"It is not open to reordering from the outside- either by a transcendent Being (for there is none) or...by self-transcendent or autonomous human beings (for they are a part of the uniformity)." (Sire)

However, the Bible sets forth that the universe is created by God and He is eternally self-existent and immanent in the material world. Furthermore, the biblical narrative is primarily concerned with God’s interaction with His creation, especially humanity, which places the primary emphasis upon God rather than nature.

Nihilism

"Nihilism is more a feeling than a philosophy, more a solitary stance before the universe than a worldview." (Sire)

The only reasonable conclusion of a closed system, as held by Naturalist, is the complete meaninglessness of life itself.

If self-existent matter is all there is, and the universe operates with uniformity apart from any supernatural, self-transcendent or autonomous influences then humans are just biological machines. Concepts such as morality or human freedom become nothing more than empty ideals which have no significance in the final analysis of life.

Whereas, the Christian biblical worldview holds that God has created man is His image as being sacred- both temporally and eternally significant, and therefore intrinsically valuable. As a free moral agent, man is capable of affecting meaningful change in his environment (e.g. love and service) as well as in his person (e.g. ethics and self-control).

Existentialism

Simply put, existentialism is a worldview to transcend nihilism and takes on two basic forms: atheistic and theistic.

Existentialism embraces the majority of naturalist views, especially regarding matter and uniformity, but differs on the state of human beings in its two forms.

In the atheistic form, the constitution of a human being is held as insignificant until by self-consciousness one becomes something significant as one defines it.

In the theistic form, one is self-consciously searching for significance in a hostile and indifferent world apart from any divine assistance.

In contrast, God is inherent in the Christian biblical worldview and man has God-given purpose which he seeks to realize through a personal relationship with God.

Eastern Pantheistic Monism

“Atman is Brahman”, is the statement which most accurately encapsulates Eastern Monism.

"Atman", or the soul of the individual, is a part of a greater essence of the universe known as "Brahman." The Eastern Monist believes that the ultimate goal of any person is to achieve “oneness” with "Brahman" by virtue of emptying oneself of desire.

However, from the Christian biblical standpoint, God is volitional and has made man in His image to be desirous. Christianity teaches that desire centered in Christ is good for both spiritual and practical life.

Furthermore, according to Christian tradition God is immaterially distinct from man, meaning that in every state of affairs God and man are separate in essence.

New Age

New Age philosophy is a milieu of many religions and worldviews, leaning heavily upon Eastern Pantheistic Monism.

Primarily, New Age thought focuses its attention on “a new consciousness” which comes about through a process of enlightened thinking which will ultimately precipitate a “superhuman” race.

According to Sire’s analysis of this worldview, “the 'self' is the kingpin” and history is peppered with sages, prophets and gurus who are representative of the “new consciousness” or “super humanity."

The Bible establishes Jesus of Nazareth as the only true superhuman, the first fruits so to speak, of a renewed creation under His authority and rule. Because of sin the consciousness of mankind is marred and incapable of self-actualizing superhuman qualities. Only by faith in the person and work of Christ is one able to participate in this new state of being (or divine nature), partially experienced in this present age, but then fully in the age to come.


Works Cited

Sire, James. The Universe Next Door. InterVarsity Press: 2009. Google Books file.

Packer, J. I. Knowing God. InterVarsity Press: 1993. Google Books file.

A Bird's Eye View of Truth

By Justin Gray


The Story of Truth

I believe that truth is ultimate reality- the eternal, absolute, powerful, personal, unyielding, relentless, immutable source. 

Truth is the ground upon which our world consists and has existed since eternity past.  By truth, the waters were gathered together with their sandy demarcations and the starry firmament established.  

By truth, the amino acid waved its baton for the symphony of life to begin.  It was by truth that grass grew slowly beneath the morning dew to satisfy the grazing beasts.  And most marvelously, by truth, the masterful model called mankind was created. 

By truth, rationality and the ability to choose was endowed unto mankind bearing with it the possibility of love; for love would not be possible for man unless the truth provided choice.  It was by choice that mankind rejected the truth and consequently was separated from the ultimate source. 

Despite rejection, by truth the ancient civilizations of the world developed, flourished, and produced greater civilizations.  By truth, wise men of old spoke in diverse manners concerning ethics, morality, metaphysics, government, judgment, hope, and things which were yet to come.  And by truth, human discontent and deep yearnings in every generation blossomed in anticipation of change. 

By the existence of truth, the great religions of the world were born to make sense of this growing anticipation. In the fullness of time, the truth became incarnate and walked among men.  The existence, purity and exploits of the truth were verified by contemporaries, both historians and commoners alike. 

Most significant among these historical accounts was his sinless life, death, and resurrection which attested to the efficacious nature of his being. The truth incarnate is Jesus of Nazareth.  Jesus made unique and extraordinary claims unlike anyone in history and his fulfillment of such claims is unprecedented. 

The truth took upon the form of humanity, and in doing so reunited the creation with the Creator. Jesus said, "I am the way, [I am] the truth and [I am] the life" (John 14:6) In other words, Jesus is truth, truth is Jesus; God is truth and truth is God; Jesus is God and God is Jesus.

Truth and Modernism

During the 18th and 19th centuries the Modernist movement began to systematically supplant the truth as I have previously described.  Both the Scientific and Industrial Revolutions spawned a new way of attempting to discover truth apart from any religious presuppositions or special revelation.

More and more, truth became a matter of empirical inquiry rather than faith.  The governing presupposition that God exists, which inspired most of the early forms of scientific investigation was replaced by secular rationalism.  

The effects of this shift in culture were also felt in the theological world, as a more materialistic perspective began to usurp the traditional ideas of a biblical worldview.  Foundational principles such as God existing as a rational, personal, immanent and knowable being were rejected in favor of more obscure forms of deism and naturalism. The Bible became just another object of scrutiny and scientific evaluation. 

By autonomous human reason, men pulled the carpet from under Jesus and watched him tumble down the stairs of history into mythology. 

Jesus became irrelevant, because his very existence was unreasonable. The 'truth', in Modernist terms, could be defined by humans for humans with human advancement of reason as the end result.  Modernists believed that through science and ingenuity mankind could force the answers of life from the environment and dominate the universe as pinnacles of the natural order.

Truth and Postmodernism

Over the last few decades our culture has drifted further and further from the sturdy harbor of moral truth and into the unceasing murkiness of relativism.

In this new world of postmodernism, every opinion is of equal value and equally true. Who would dare disrupt this equilibrium by calling these opinions into question? After all, don't we interact with reality from our own point of view? And doesn't our point of view entitle us to create for ourselves a reality most suitable for the lifestyle we choose? 

Postmodernism seeks to eulogize the concept of truth.

Aristotle’s "Law of non-contradiction" is dismissed by deconstructionism. We are free to think and believe as we choose as long as our choices do not infringe upon the thoughts and beliefs of others. This philosophy would work out nicely if all claims weren’t truth claims.

There can only be one truth; and therefore, all those that claim to have defined truth for themselves have already discredited the truth of others. A society with no ultimate standard for truth is a society of complete ambiguity and lawlessness.

I believe the Judeo-Christian worldview is the only standard that provides an anchor for reality. Truth as defined by other world-views and philosophical systems either miss the mark completely or only give us part of an attempt at a very complicated answer.

The truth of all matters, both material and immaterial, has appeared in the person of Jesus Christ. He is the ultimate reality- the eternal, absolute, powerful, personal, unyielding, relentless and immutable source.

Resources

Sire, James. The Universe Next Door. InterVarsity Press: 2009. Google Books file.

Packer, J. I. Knowing God. InterVarsity Press: 1993. Google Books file.

On Knowing God

By Justin Gray


God is an immense subject which has elicited conflicting thoughts, feelings and attitudes from generation to generation. Throughout history men have wrestled with the idea of an eternally transcendent being. Despite numerous attempts, no intellectual ascent has penetrated this great mystery.

By reason, the philosophers seemed to be on the precipice of discovering The Divine and later many scientists were prompted by an uncanny sense of awe to systematically probe the universe. However, no philosophy, scientific analysis, religion, or any other worldview has spoken more concretely concerning God than the Judeo-Christian tradition.

A.W. Tozer once said: "What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us"- and for those who have arrived at the conclusion that God exists, then it follows 'If God exists, is it possible to really know Him?' In order to speak accurately on this topic we must first define what it means to 'know' something or someone.

According to the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, epistemology is the study of knowledge and justified belief. It is important to understand that information that comes to us which we regard as 'true' or 'real' is not only perceived as an exercise of our intellect but is simultaneously a commitment to such facts; therefore part of knowing is believing.

All around us is the awe-inspiring presence of nature. This fact is undeniable and as we continue to discover the many facets of our universe we can’t help but be curious; and to pose questions concerning its origin. Science has contributed much to our understanding of what we see and even some of what we experience. However, the questions of science, ‘what?’ and ‘how?’ are very different than ‘why?’ and it is at this point science ends and religion begins.

Many have recognized nature as a signpost to The Divine; however, there is some debate over how much can be ascertained of God from nature itself. Historically, theologians have agreed upon and embraced the concept of general revelation, which is simply defined as what one can know about God through nature and reason.

Some assert that God may only be known through the investigation of the cosmos, because God is not personal and therefore does not communicate with man. While others believe that God may be known through nature but also by the exercise of reason in evaluating Scripture. In both cases, human reason is above all and no other supernatural influences such as special revelation (God directly revealing himself) are involved in the process of ‘knowing’ God.

However, theists traditionally maintain that God has spoken through nature but “God has also revealed Himself in words- propositional, verbalized revelation to his prophets and the various biblical writers. And, theists maintain, God has also revealed himself in his Son, Jesus- ‘the Word became flesh’ (John 1:14).” (Sire, 40)

I believe that general revelation acts as a paradigm into which special revelation comes to us. According to the apostle Paul in Romans Chapter 1, we implicitly know God because His invisible qualities have been made known to us in part by nature and our innate sense of a moral standard. And so we have an impetus for God’s existence and, to a certain degree, His nature but reason alone will not take us the whole way.

Inevitably, reason must surrender to faith. And it is by faith that we “...may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God.” (Ephesians 3:18,19)

In J.I. Packer's book, Knowing God he identifies “five basic truths, five basic foundation principles of the knowledge about God which Christians have: 1) God has spoken to man, and the Bible is His Word, 2) God is Lord and King over His world, 3) God is Savior, 4) God is triune, 5) Godliness means responding to God’s revelation.” (Packer, 15-16)

When we step off the cliff of reason and unto the invisible substance of faith we enter into a fresh understanding of what it means to know God. This ‘knowing’ is not merely intellectual but also deeply relational. This relationship, despite the impeding conditions of our world, prompts us to place the full weight of our trust upon God’s person.

Knowing God is a journey, not a destination; like an exciting voyage into outer space, and not like pulling into a McDonald’s drive-thru. We begin our voyage to knowing God by looking around us at nature and looking within us to our moral inclinations and the meditation of our hearts. It is by faith that we pierce the stratosphere and enter into the cosmic vastness of God. And it is there we begin to understand the riches of His grace and bask in the unsurpassed radiance of His Son.


Works Cited

Sire, James. The Universe Next Door. InterVarsity Press: 2009. Google Books file.

Packer, J. I. Knowing God. InterVarsity Press: 1993. Google Books file