CREATION!

I was at the Isle of Skye last week with a couple of friends from church. Skye is a 650-sq. mile island (pop. 9,500) off the western coast of Scotland, about 250 miles from Aberdeen by road. What a stunning place! Stark and spectacular, raw and rugged. Dramatic mountains, dazzling lochs, imposing cliffs, impressive formations. (Not to mention a collection of fascinating castles; there I am at Armadale Castle, part of the holdings of the Clan Donald, overlooking the Sound of Sleat.) There is no question but that Skye is one of the most picturesque spots in this country. Photographers galore pay homage to this island all throughout the year, in weather clement or otherwise. If you come by Scotland, Skye is a must-see!

The magnificence of creation!

The heavens are telling
of the glory of God,
And their expanse
is declaring the work
of His hands.
Psalm 19:1

Indeed, God’s creation cannot remain silent. Every lofty mountain and every lovely dale bursts forth the glory of its Creator. His fingerprints are everywhere.

For since the creation
of the world
His invisible attributes,
His eternal power
and divine nature,
have been clearly seen,
being understood through
what has been made.
Romans 1:20

And all of this given to mankind to oversee and to steward.

When I consider Your heavens,
the work of Your fingers,
The moon and the stars,
which You have ordained;
What is man that
You take thought of him,
And the son of man
that You care for him?
Yet You have made him
a little lower than God,
And You crown him
with glory and majesty!
You make him
to rule over the works
of Your hands;
You have put
all things under his feet.
Psalm 8:3–6

This is quite a responsibility. Over His magnificent creation, we humans have oversight. Let’s take that call seriously. It is easy to be dismissive of our duty as stewards of His handiwork. After all, there’s going to be a new heaven and new earth, so why bother about this old one? That’s not very different from asserting we shouldn’t care for these bodies of ours, since we’re going to get new ones anyway, is it? New earths and new bodies notwithstanding, what God has entrusted to us we must care for. The Bible is clear about our being faithful to God for all that is given to us.

It is required of stewards
that one be found faithful.
1 Corinthians 4:2

Oh, and that part in Psalm 8:3 about creation being the result of the twiddling of a few divine fingers? All that splendid and sublime work and only a finger or two involved? Perhaps. But you know what it took for the “new” creation—the creation of a community of believers who have been eternally saved from the sin and its consequences?

While it took only fingers for the awe-inspiring grandeur of nature to be created, it took not only fingers, but hands, feet, whence sorrow and love flow mingled down. A mouth struck. A back flogged. A scalp torn. A side pierced. A heart punctured. A love poured out. For me and for you.

Jesus Christ. Made sin on our behalf. Forsaken by God. Because He cared.

For God so loved the world,
that He gave
His only begotten Son,
that whoever believes
in Him shall not perish,
but have eternal life.
John 3:16

For those who place their trust in Christ, believing in his death and resurrection for the forgiveness of sin, salvation is free. Are you there yet?

TEACHER!

I met Prof. Watson for the last time this week. At least for formal purposes.

In the British system of obtaining a Ph.D., a student works very closely with his or her thesis supervisor, being guided in the writing of that 100,000-word volume. This is the major task of the postgraduate (“graduate student” in the U.S.): thesis-writing commences on day 1 and concludes when the supervisor declares that you’re done. And Prof. Watson affirmed I was, a few days ago. He didn’t want to see my thesis again (and, I confess, right now, neither do I!). Only one more hurdle to cross before I traverse the Atlantic permanently—the final viva voce (oral exams), to be scheduled for late May. But the labor is essentially over! Hurrah!

It has been a privilege working with Francis. A polymath, his facility in languages, his knowledge of the New Testament, his grasp of the major works of hermeneutics in the Western canon, his insightful reading and incisive critique are, to say the least, impressive. And he is also an accomplished pianist. As one of his former Oxford classmates once confided, “The rest of us were hard-working; Francis was brilliant.” So I dropped all and journeyed 5,000 miles to sojourn, once again, in another foreign land, to work with this remarkable man for the last 18 months. A teacher par excellence. I have learnt much.

That is not to say that my learning processes terminate at this point. For everyone, education is lifelong. For the believer, especially, learning about an infinite God and His Word and His work will never cease. While this growth is our personal responsibility—self-motivated and individually driven, just as in a Ph.D.—understanding our great God and applying the Scriptures can be ably guided and appropriately influenced by spiritual, skillful, and sensitive teachers. We all need them. Every Timothy needs a Paul. Every Melanchthon, a Luther. Every disciple, a discipler. And that means every one of us needs a mentor.

A wise one will hear
and increase in learning,
And a person of understanding
will acquire wise counsel.
Proverbs 1:5

We need wise counselors who can teach us about the ways of God and workings of God from the Word of God written out in their lives. This wisdom, this skill in godly living, this development of a pattern of godliness, is what it means to grow in Christ. It is essential therefore that we heed the words of those wiser ones.

Listen to counsel
and accept discipline,
That you may be wise
the rest of your days.
Proverbs 19:20

Paul was proud to call Timothy his “son” in the faith. Here was one who listened to his mentor’s words.

Now you followed my teaching,
conduct, purpose, faith,
patience, love, perseverance,
persecutions, and sufferings ….
2 Timothy 3:10–11

Let’s make sure we have around us one, or two, or more, wiser and more mature counselors, all our lives. Let’s make sure we pay attention to their teaching, emulating their conduct, purpose, faith, love, perseverance ….

So then, brethren,
stand firm
and hold to the traditions
which you were taught ….
2 Thessalonians 2:15

And let’s be proactive about pursuing counsel. Initiating contact with mentors. Seeking them out. Respecting their wisdom. And honoring them.

But we request of you, brethren,
that you appreciate those
who diligently labor among you,
and have charge over you
in the Lord
and give you instruction,
and that you esteem them
very highly in love
because of their work.
1 Thessalonians 5:12–13

DAWGdays!

This is it, folks. After about a decade of existence, this kennel is closing its doors. I’ve mentioned the motley crew of Aberdonian fellow-postgrad students called “Dawgs” in previous blogs. This species gathered weekly to pray and enjoy one another’s fellowship and was, in the 18 months of my sojourn in Aberdeen, a source of support and strength. God bless the Dawgs!

Behold, how good
and how pleasant it is
For brothers to dwell
together in unity!
Psalm 133:1

All of that is soon coming to an end. Decimated we already were, having lost several to graduation in the last year. Now the remaining few are making plans to abscond from this fair city. So we gathered for one last time to share a meal and take in a movie the other day.

There’s Mark on the left (Canis citharoedus—the troubadour Dawg: he is an accomplished musician). Mark is leaving to go back to the U.S. in a couple of weeks, looting Scotland of one of its treasures, his wife, Dawn. There’s Tom in the middle (Canis helveticus—the Swiss Dawg). He’s headed for parts East. (I’ve heard rumors that he’s joining the French Foreign Legion. I told him to make sure to take his Ph.D. thesis with him: “Festwerden im Glauben an Christum”: Eduard Böhl’s (1836–1903) Proposal for a Re-emergence of Reformation Thought. He could, I suggested to Tom, read a page or two of that glorious work out loud each morning to his fellow-legionnaires of the 13th Demi-Brigade based in Djibouti. What a treat it will be for them! A daily dose of “Böhl”.) And then there’s yours faithfully, Canis medicus, planning an evacuation in ~3 months time.

An era comes to an end. The fellowship has been sweet—one with another, in Christ. It will be missed; but we’ll continue to walk with Christ together, though scattered. The three of us will soon join our DAWGbrothers of the Diaspora, located in North and South America, Asia, and Europe. Headed out to bigger and better things, God willing, to do what He says and to go where He sends. But this will not mean the end of fellowship. No, this will not mean the end of spiritual union. For wherever we are, into whatever fellowship God brings us, in whichever body of Christ we take root, there we intend to …

Be devoted to one another
in brotherly love.
Romans 12:10

For that is what the Scriptures command all of us to be involved in, …

… not forsaking
our own assembling together,
… but encouraging one another;
and all the more
as you see
the day drawing near.
Hebrews 10:25

The Bible sees it as is a given and takes it for granted. This kind of loving fellowship is the hallmark of the body of Christ.

Now as to the
love of the brethren,
you have no need
for anyone to write to you,
for you yourselves
are taught by God
to love one another; ….
But we urge you, brethren,
to excel still more.
1 Thessalonians 4:9–10

In the third century, Tertullian quoted unbelievers as being struck by the Christians’ fellowship (Apology 39.6): “Vide … ut invicem se diligant” (“See how they love one another”). DAWGshows are impressive! In any time, in any place. May there be more of those. Till the dawn of THE greatest fellowship that will be upon us soon and very soon. Eternal. Supernal. Spiritual. Continual. Peaceful. Blissful.

And until that day, here on earth, …

Let love of the brethren continue.

Hebrews 13:1

TEXT!

Many a happy hour I have spent in this building—Aberdeen University’s Special Libraries and Archives. This is a fascinating place! A collection of over 4,000 manuscripts and archives, dating from antiquity to the 21st century: an outstanding collection of medieval and early modern texts, relating to science, medicine, philosophy, as well as an important gathering of ancient oriental specimens, papyri, and ostraca (broken pots with writing on them). The University itself, dating from the late 1400s, generated a significant number of those documents.

It was indeed a delightful experience to pore through ancient books on preaching, at least one of which made it into my thesis. A book by John Wilkins (1651) with the most impressive title: ECCLESIASTES, or A discourse concerning the Gift of PREACHING As it fals under the Rules of Art: Shewing The most proper Rules and Directions, for Method, Invention, Books, Expressions, whereby a Minister may be furnished with such abilities as may make him a Workman that needs not to be ashamed. Very seasonable for these Times, wherein the Harvest is great, and the skilful Labourers but few.

Repository for posterity. Texts are particularly suited for the purpose of preservation that those in the future may profit thereby. Unlike speech, for which the hearer has to be in physical proximity of the speaker—within earshot—texts can move. Across space, across time. The mobility of texts enable them to speak to any and to all who volunteer to read.

No wonder God chose to work among His people primarily through a text. Though the Word—the ultimate revelation of God—is the Son, Jesus Christ, in whom dwells the fullness of deity, we see this incarnate Word only through the inscripturated Word, the Bible.

The Bible. The Text. Written, archived, disseminated. Under the governance of the Spirit. Read, preached, applied. Under the governance of the Spirit.

It is no surprise, then, that the Bible itself affirms the validity of its content for all generations.

These words, which
I am commanding you today,
shall be on your heart.
You shall teach them diligently
to your sons
and shall talk of them
when you sit in your house
and when you walk by the way
and when you lie down a
nd when you rise up.
Deuteronomy 6:6–7

For whatever was written
in earlier times
was written for our instruction ….
Romans 15:4

Indeed, the entire ancient text of the Scriptures is archived for our gain.

All Scripture is inspired by God
and profitable for teaching,
for reproof, for correction,
for training in righteousness;
so that the (wo)man of God
may be adequate,
equipped for every good work.
2 Timothy 3:16–17

Earnestly must we read this text. Diligently must we heed this text. For in it are the words of life.

Sing them over again to me,
Wonderful words of life,
Let me more of their beauty see,
Wonderful words of life;
Words of life and beauty
Teach me faith and duty.
Philip P. Bliss, 1874

May this text be our focus, our lamp, our delight. For its contents …

They are more desirable
than gold, yes,
than much fine gold.
Sweeter also than honey
and the drippings
of the honeycomb.
Psalm 19:10

Practical. Prescriptive. Priceless. Potent. Protective. Purifying. Only this Text. And, of course, providential. From the hand of God. Only this Text.

So, this week, don’t forget to pay attention to that sermon from this sublime Text. (And thank your pastor for his hard work!)