As promised, we will be taking a whistle-stop tour through Timothy Keller's short book The Prodigal God. The author describes it as a book which thrashes out the essentials of the Christian faith, and can serve as an introduction to Christianity.
Some people who read this blog probably think they have as much of a grasp of the Christian faith as they need, or at least are very in tune with the basics. This includes me (and yes, I read this blog, but unlike you I'm not afraid to say it!). However, as Keller points out, the minute you think you've grasped the good news of the Christian faith is the minute you've misunderstood it or underestimated it.
My rather weak analogy for this is the concept of infinity in mathematics. When you first encounter its curvy shape you are in awe, left scratching your head in puzzlement. But as you begin to draw it yourself and use it in your equations you get a feel for what it represents. Infinity becomes like just another number; you think you've grasped its concept. and the puzzlement and wonder is no longer there. But as soon as you think you "get" infinity, you have lost sight of its essence, its essence being its limitlessness and ungraspableness. You only begin to get infinity when you realise that you'll never completely get it.
So it is with the gospel. As a Christian I think I get it, and now the ball is in my court. But such thinking signifies that I don't really get it at all, for if I truly got it I would realise that I can never fully get my head around this astoundingly good news and am in need of its message being constantly impressed on my mind and heart.
One of the issues highlighted by Michael Horton in his book Christless Christianity is that the modern church tends to "assume the gospel". We call out from the pews, "OK, we get the good news. What next? What can we do?" Keller's book is an attempt to recapture the stunning message of the gospel, so that those of us sitting in church buildings desire to say, "What good news! Tell it to us again".
The parable commonly known as the Prodigal Son is the passage used to unearth the heart of the Christian faith. It's a simple story involving a father and his two sons. That's right - two sons. "There was a man who had two sons" is Jesus' opening line in the short story, and so as Keller opines, it is not right to single out just one of the sons for special focus. This parable is as much about the elder son as it is the younger, and it tells us as much about the father as it does his sons. We therefore reduce the parable's full force if we eliminate any one of the main characters from it.
The word "prodigal" from the popular title for the parable is also misunderstood. Based on the actions of the younger son we tend to think of it as meaning "wayward" or "rebellious", but the true definition of the word is "recklessly spendthrift". It is an adjective to describe someone given to lavish expenditure. This is certainly true of the son in the story who blew his money on exotic prostitutes, but it is also true of the father. See how he welcomes his son home with a huge party, refusing to count his sins against him but instead showering him with fatherly love.
The father represents God, hence the title of the book The Prodigal God. In this story we get a glimpse into the heart of God, a heart prone to -- even characterised by -- unbridled love. Jesus paints a picture of God the Father in which madcap expenditure of unconditional love is the motif. The good news that Jesus is Lord flows out of this heart, this Father-heart of love. We can never plumb its depths, but we must never stop. As Keller puts it,
Some people who read this blog probably think they have as much of a grasp of the Christian faith as they need, or at least are very in tune with the basics. This includes me (and yes, I read this blog, but unlike you I'm not afraid to say it!). However, as Keller points out, the minute you think you've grasped the good news of the Christian faith is the minute you've misunderstood it or underestimated it.
My rather weak analogy for this is the concept of infinity in mathematics. When you first encounter its curvy shape you are in awe, left scratching your head in puzzlement. But as you begin to draw it yourself and use it in your equations you get a feel for what it represents. Infinity becomes like just another number; you think you've grasped its concept. and the puzzlement and wonder is no longer there. But as soon as you think you "get" infinity, you have lost sight of its essence, its essence being its limitlessness and ungraspableness. You only begin to get infinity when you realise that you'll never completely get it.
So it is with the gospel. As a Christian I think I get it, and now the ball is in my court. But such thinking signifies that I don't really get it at all, for if I truly got it I would realise that I can never fully get my head around this astoundingly good news and am in need of its message being constantly impressed on my mind and heart.
One of the issues highlighted by Michael Horton in his book Christless Christianity is that the modern church tends to "assume the gospel". We call out from the pews, "OK, we get the good news. What next? What can we do?" Keller's book is an attempt to recapture the stunning message of the gospel, so that those of us sitting in church buildings desire to say, "What good news! Tell it to us again".
The parable commonly known as the Prodigal Son is the passage used to unearth the heart of the Christian faith. It's a simple story involving a father and his two sons. That's right - two sons. "There was a man who had two sons" is Jesus' opening line in the short story, and so as Keller opines, it is not right to single out just one of the sons for special focus. This parable is as much about the elder son as it is the younger, and it tells us as much about the father as it does his sons. We therefore reduce the parable's full force if we eliminate any one of the main characters from it.
The word "prodigal" from the popular title for the parable is also misunderstood. Based on the actions of the younger son we tend to think of it as meaning "wayward" or "rebellious", but the true definition of the word is "recklessly spendthrift". It is an adjective to describe someone given to lavish expenditure. This is certainly true of the son in the story who blew his money on exotic prostitutes, but it is also true of the father. See how he welcomes his son home with a huge party, refusing to count his sins against him but instead showering him with fatherly love.
The father represents God, hence the title of the book The Prodigal God. In this story we get a glimpse into the heart of God, a heart prone to -- even characterised by -- unbridled love. Jesus paints a picture of God the Father in which madcap expenditure of unconditional love is the motif. The good news that Jesus is Lord flows out of this heart, this Father-heart of love. We can never plumb its depths, but we must never stop. As Keller puts it,
God's reckless grace it our greatest hope.
This series will attempt to encounter that grace.
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