Though I have from time to time been typecast, sometimes as the family guy, others the economics guy, and still more the worldview guy, I’ve been blessed to be called to speak on a number of different themes. I’ve spoken at pro-life events, theological conferences, apologetics gatherings, homeschool conventions and more. I am grateful for all those opportunities, and I pray that I always speak from a position of biblical passion. That said, and not wanting to close off any opportunities outside of this sweet spot, there are some things I get more excited about than others.
Truth be told, however, that sweet spot is less about a particular theme, more about a particular approach. Whether I am speaking of justification by faith alone, the book of Exodus, C.S. Lewis, logical positivism, or the call of a husband the hope ever before me is that what I say might be used to help those hearing to be changed more fully into the image of Christ. My heart’s desire is to see the power of the Word of God make the critical journey from our minds to our hearts. I’m delighted to provide information others may be unaware of, but still more love it when I have the opportunity to take information we all already know, and show another facet that we might have missed, to lightly twist a diamond of truth to allow another facet to shine.
Truths, by themselves, are linear things. They give birth, however, to implications, which come at us from every direction. The truths, by themselves, are often content to remain as units of information, safely stored and sealed in our grey matter. The implications, however, live in fecund soil from which comes not just more implications, but implications that touch us where we live, or to put it another way, that touch us. The doctrine of total depravity says something about the nature of man. The implication, however, is that Jesus rescued me when I fought against Him. That God created all things by the word of His power says something about the creation. What it says about His power to remake us, having declared us to be just, drives us to our knees. In both cases, the former draws a response of “huh” while the latter creates tears of gratitude.
I fear that we fear implications precisely because they have the power to not just challenge us, but change us. True ideas can certainly correct false ideas, but if they stay just ideas, they remain self-contained. They don’t reach into us, as implications do. We, because we are actual sinners, want to stay the way we are. That’s why we reduce the moral commands of the Word of God to the banal and insipid, “Be nice.”
Whatever I am speaking on my desire is to draw from the ideas these most potent implications- we are, in ourselves, sinners of the worst kind. We are not, however, in ourselves, but in Him. And thus we are loved with an everlasting, immutable love. I love nothing more than for people to go away from my teaching riveted by these truths- I am worse than I thought. He is better than I thought. And He is for me. That, above all else, is what I love to teach about.