“I want their hearts to be encouraged and united in love, so that they may have all the riches of assured understanding and have the knowledge of God’s mystery, that is, Christ himself, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” (Colossians 2:2-3)
As Presbyterian's our theology is based on the reformed theological thought and writings of John Calvin. Calvin had a major influence on the theology and practices of the Presbyterian Church. Calvin's thought and ideas about God has influenced the theology of many pastors and theologians even today, even if they are unaware that the idea may have originated with Calvin.
Many people have read the book by Rick Warren called “The Purpose Driven Life.” What is the first line of his book? The answer is “It’s not about you.” Rick Warren goes on to say, “If you want to know why you were placed on this planet, you must begin with God.”
This statement is very much in line with the theological thought of John Calvin in content. A major theme of Calvin was the Sovereignty of God, To God Alone is the Glory. Both Rick Warren and John Calvin believe that knowledge of self requires knowledge of God. And both believe that God was acting in love when he created the world and everything in it. “There is not one blade of grass, there is no color in this world,” said John Calvin, “that is not intended to make us rejoice.”
It’s not about us; it’s all about God. As a pastor and disciple of Jesus Christ this has been an important theme I have attempted to live by and regularly remind myself of daily. A major error that any pastor, church leader or church member can make is to begin to believe it is about us. Our own egos and ideas can set up boundaries that prevent us from experiencing the full mystery and wonder of God's grace and creation. Jesus never did anything without first knowing what God the Father wanted first.
Some years ago, I started to sign letters, notes and e-mails with the closing “To God Alone Be the Glory.” I did not do this because it was a clever salutation, but as a way for me to regularly remind myself that, “It's not about me, it's all about God.” This is the chief direction I wish to keep with this blog. As a pastor, I am still a follower of Jesus and I hope I can share some helpful and thought
provoking posts. While at the same time I am still striving and struggling to live out my life in God's presence, continually working to strengthen my life in Christ. I need to stay focused that it is all about God, not me and what God is capable of doing in and through me to God's glory alone.
Initially, blogs began as online journals were individuals shared their thoughts and activities and I hope to do the same. As blogs evolved they became a means for the author to engage in a conversation with their readers through comments. I very much want this blog to become a conversation about what God is doing within our lives and how we can live the life God intended for us since the time of creation.
I have enjoyed the writings of many Christian and non-christian writers over the years and I plan to share my thoughts, favorite quotes, and questions. One of my favorite authors, since college has been C.S. Lewis. Lewis simply summarizes my expectations for this blog when he writes, “Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another: "What! You too? I thought I was the only one.”
We all have questions, thoughts, ideas, hopes and dreams and once we engage in conversations with others we discover others are thinking the same ideas and have the same questions. To paraphrase Paul from my opening scripture “I want your hearts to be encouraged and united in love,” as we take a journey together in “Christ himself, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” about God.
I hope to post my thoughts to this blog three to four times each week. I hope you will join me in a conversation about understanding God who is revealed to us through the person of Jesus Christ.
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