Gospel Prism

I came to Toronto to be with my parents-in-law. My father-in-law is suffering lung cancer and so I’m here to assist in what little ways that I can, from driving down to the hospital to fixing their computer to pouring water in from large jugs to smaller jugs. But as I have been here, I reflect on the cold weather. It’s been a while since I have been in a cold weather place, where wind chill makes it feel 5 below zero. It snowed last night and so today there really isn’t much to do. Actually, since I’ve been here, I’ve been pretty much at home helping out in these small ways. But this doesn’t mean I am bored.

I have had the pleasure of reading, and it has been fun. Thus far, since I have been here, I finished Eric Metaxas’ book on William Wilberforce, Amazing Grace. What a joy it was to read about a man who made a stark difference in the lives of so many. And his driving force was passion for the Gospel. That singular desire led his some of the most difficult times.

And then I finished reading David McCullough’s great book 1776. I read McCullough’s John Adams and both were wonderful reads. McCullough’s writing style is so fluid and easy to read. It’s gripping and yet he writes with the seriousness and gravitas of a historian. Reading about Washington and his intrepidness despite the serious odds stacked against him was an inspiration. McCullough doesn’t make Washington out to be mythical because we see Washington’s failures as well. But Washington does deserve to be in the pantheon of world changers to say the least.

Finally, I have been reading The Glory of Christ by John Owen. This book stirs the soul and mind and keeps me focused on Christ constantly. Admittedly, the other two I finished in a flash. McCullough’s book I finished in two days because it was so gripping. Owen’s book I am on chapter 2 in two weeks! It’s not a slow read because it is boring. It’s a slow read because I want to ruminate on every morsel. It has been worth the time and energy.

What I have gained from all three of these things rests in something that John Owen had said in The Glory of Christ. Owen notes that unbelievers have a faint view of God’s glory, enough that they can be amazed by glory, but it keeps them wandering. They never find God at the end of that journey. Through the life of Washington, I have seen the glimpse of God’s glory through His common grace. Here was a man who stood strong and resolved because he firmly believed in the cause of liberty for the young American nation. His closest friends either failed him or betrayed him. The nation’s papers railed against him. He was losing battles through his own personal strategic blunders. And his men were deserting or dying from disease in droves. This would have led to the demise of any man, but not Washington. He fixed his eye on the prize.

Wilberforce was the same. But he was not wandering. His push for abolition was totally based on his love for Christ. And this made him focused and resolved even when time and time again his bills were rejected in Parliament and even when he could have given in to political gamesmanship and expediency. But again, his was the prize of abolition and nothing would deter him, even at the cost of his own political career.

Owen allows me to see that when Christ is most glorified, I have a perspective to view men like Washington and others like Wilberforce. So, I am now on my fourth book, Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by Doris Kearns Goodwin. I think Owen’s wisdom will apply here as well.