I cannot recommend "King's Cross" highly enough. There were so many parts that spoke to me, that brought me to new awareness of the gift of Jesus to the World.
How can it be that we have lost the urgency, the joy, the passion that is the real and true story of Jesus. Like C.S. Lewis, Timothy Keller opens my brain to new pathways of understanding of just how significant the death of Jesus on the cross is.
I know this seems weird to say. I'm a Christian - one would think I'm feeling this all the time. But, I'm not. Honestly, sometimes I think I am more worried about hurting a person's feelings, or offending a person by sharing the story of Jesus. Keller explains gospel means "news that brings great joy"--why in the world wouldn't I be eager to share that with someone?
How have we lost that? How have we let the world convince us that sharing Jesus' news of great joy is not a good thing?
I'd like to entice you with excerpts, but I practically have to quote the whole book! I'll give you some pictures of the essence.
In Chapter 1, we learn that the Trinity (the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit) are
Now Satan goes to Jesus in the wilderness - Satan comes to Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane:
If ever there was a time for sharing "news of great joy", it is now, don't you think? I'm a Christian. I have the antidote. Guess what, the antidote is a story. I love stories, and this one is true. I need to be as eager to share this story as I am to share the stories of the novels I read.
How can it be that we have lost the urgency, the joy, the passion that is the real and true story of Jesus. Like C.S. Lewis, Timothy Keller opens my brain to new pathways of understanding of just how significant the death of Jesus on the cross is.
I know this seems weird to say. I'm a Christian - one would think I'm feeling this all the time. But, I'm not. Honestly, sometimes I think I am more worried about hurting a person's feelings, or offending a person by sharing the story of Jesus. Keller explains gospel means "news that brings great joy"--why in the world wouldn't I be eager to share that with someone?
How have we lost that? How have we let the world convince us that sharing Jesus' news of great joy is not a good thing?
I'd like to entice you with excerpts, but I practically have to quote the whole book! I'll give you some pictures of the essence.
In Chapter 1, we learn that the Trinity (the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit) are
"each centering on the others, adoring and serving them . . . this makes God infinitely, profoundly happy . . . if it's true that this world has been created by the Triune God, then ultimate reality is a dance . . . if this world was made by a Triune God, relationships of love are what life is really about . . . He must have created us not to get joy, but to give it".The author then goes on to the story of Jesus temptation in the wilderness. He explains the wilderness is a battleground, and Satan is wanting to tempt us away from the dance. Using the story of Adam, Keller explains that God said to Adam:
"because you love me, don't eat from the tree--just because I say so. . . Obey me about the tree and you will live".We know that Adam didn't live up to his end of the bargain.
Now Satan goes to Jesus in the wilderness - Satan comes to Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane:
"the ultimate antigarden to the Garden of Eden. . .God said to Jesus, 'Obey me about the tree',--only this time the tree was a cross--and you will die. And Jesus did. He has gone before you into the heart of a very real battle to draw you into the ultimate reality of the dance. What He has enjoyed from all eternity, he has come to offer to you".In the afterward of the book, Keller tells us that:
"Steven Spielberg was refused any Oscars until he stopped making movies with only happy endings, yet his fairy tale-ending movies are his most popular. . . critics observe this and scowl that, of course, "escapist" stories will always be popular".He (Keller) goes on to say that Tolkien argues:
"people sense that such stories point to some underlying Reality. As we read or watch them, we are being told that the world is certainly filled with danger . . . nonetheless there is a meaning to things, there is a difference between good and evil, and above all there will be a final defeat of evil . . .the gospel story of Jesus is the underlying Reality to which all the stories point. . . it is the true story; it happened".Keller also shares the words of theologian Robert W. Jensen:
"our culture is in crisis because the modern world has lost it's story. We once thought that life had a purpose, that there was something to live for, and that there was hope for a resolution to the sufferings of the world. Now, many say, none of these things are true".What a sad statement.
If ever there was a time for sharing "news of great joy", it is now, don't you think? I'm a Christian. I have the antidote. Guess what, the antidote is a story. I love stories, and this one is true. I need to be as eager to share this story as I am to share the stories of the novels I read.
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