A Strange Phenomenon

So I definitely dropped the ball on my Clash summaries. I apologize most profusely that the start of school has interrupted my intention to continue covering the material from the conference. I hope at least to write a few more summaries, but I have other thoughts on my mind until then!

School has not been taking all of my time, you see. I’ve been reading a lot, and as a result I’ve been learning a lot. I have always loved to read, but I have The Clash to thank for my recent increase in both my reading list and my desire to spend more time reading books that actually matter.

I don’t think there’s a word for this phenomenon, but I’m sure I’m not the only one this happens to: you know how when you hear about something you’ve never heard about before, or when you learn a word you have never known before, all of the sudden in the next few days or even weeks it seems to come up constantly? And then you wonder whether it has always been around and you’ve just never noticed it before because you’ve never known what it was, or whether it’s just one of those inexplicable mysteries of life…

Well, that’s how my life has been since The Clash. I’m reading several books right now, and it seems that every chapter I read correlates almost directly to another chapter I might have read in another book, and then the same theme or topic comes up in my Bible-reading one morning, and then the Sunday morning sermon joins the fray. It’s everywhere I turn. And like I questioned earlier, I don’t know if this is only because I have come to recognize more connections within the Christian life, or if it’s one of those mysteries. In this case, I’m going to name that mystery God. I choose to believe that God is showing me something very closely related to many of the themes from The Clash. When I build my worldview on God and His revelation of Himself to me, not only does everything about the world and myself begin to make sense, but every component of the Christian life seems to fall into place, and it all ties back to Him.

Everything about the Christian life ties back to God? That sounds childishly obvious. Maybe it is, but I think it’s easier to forget that it seems. I think particularly for those who have been raised around Christianity, though our faith is genuine and our convictions biblical, it can be easy to forget to ground both faith and convictions about life in God and His self-revelation through His Word. We must realize there really is no other source through which we can know anything. Romans 11:36 (a theme verse from The Clash) says quite universally: “For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever.” If we believe the Bible is true, there’s no escaping that. We may appreciate some aspects of God through creation, but His primary method of revelation is through His Word. We may even see creation as a complement to the Bible’s revelation, but it must never be a substitute. There is no means outside of the Bible through which we may really know God.

I’m not getting off topic – I think this is crucial to the “phenomenon” I was talking about before. I don’t think my phenomenon is a unique experience. Maybe I’m only now beginning to understand what it means to know God through His Word. It’s no mystery that the books I’m reading and the messages I’m hearing about the Christian life are all repeating each other and tying together. It’s all coming from the Word of God. God reveals Himself and His will for my life through His Word, not directly through other books or even sermons. Those mediums are thankfully available (and important!) to point us to and help us understand the Bible, but they should not by any means replace the Bible. Of course the Word of God ties back into itself and relates to all aspects of the Christian life!

There’s a little picture into what my life has been for the past week or two. I mentioned I have been learning a lot, and that is true. I am excited to write about some of these things, not because they will be anything new for most of you, but because it’s exciting enough to me that I cannot contain it to myself!

And as a side note – everyone should read “The Certainty of Faith” by Herman Bavinck. Every attendee of The Clash received a copy of this book, but if you had not the fortune of being there, find this book and read it. It is short and easy to read (I read it in one sitting) and chock full of wisdom and insight. I underlined sentences and paragraphs on just about every page.