“And now in Christ it is literally true that the person we adore most in the universe adores us. In the eyes of God, in the opinion of the only one in the universe whose opinion ultimately counts, we are more valuable than all the jewels that lie beneath the earth.”
Tim Keller, Making Sense of God
The key phrase: In Christ.
We took a day trip to the nearby village of San Pedro Mallo located in the norther edge of El Bierzo. While there we were able to hike to a nearby waterfall and meet some new wildlife!
While listening to G. K. Chesterton’s book, The Man Who Knew Too Much, I came across this thought provoking statement:
“It was like daylight behind stage scenery.”
Sometimes one small question or observation can unsettle the comfortable feeling of my constructed reality.
Last week we had a team meeting in a village about 2 hours away. While there we were able to visit one of the only (perhaps the only) Protestant cemeteries in Spain.
To North American ears this could be confusing, but the reality is that multiple factors (including the Counter Reformation, Franco, etc) have made it difficult in the past for non-catholic believers in Spain to live a life of religious freedom.
Once we know through faith in Christ’s work for us that we are reconciled to God, and that the Creator is now not just our sovereign but our father, we can begin to have a more “sacramental” experience of the world. We see everything as a free gift from Father and a foretaste of the glory and goodness to come in our eternal inheritance. In short, as Miroslav Volf puts it, “Attachment to God amplifies and deepens enjoyment of the world.” It does not diminish it.
We had fires in the mountains all last week, and we have no idea of the full damage. However, we were able to visit some breathtaking sites over a week ago, and here are the pictures.
Book: Koukl, Gregory. The Story of Reality: How the World Began, How It Ends, and Everything Important That Happens in Between. Zondervan, 2017.
(for a full review, click the title above) 
Point: There is a Story of everything. It is a reasonable story and one for everyone, although many have chosen not to believe it. It is a story about God, man, Jesus, cross, and resurrection.
Path: Koukl takes the reader through the Big Story, taking time to address concerns, questions, critiques, and misrepresentations. It is a patient tour of the greatest Story of all time. He addresses each of the five key words he has delineated in order to summarize the story.
Favorite Quote: More to the point, what good would it do the disciples to steal Jesus’ remains, then lie about a resurrection? The basic rule with lying is this: Invent a story that benefits you, not one that gets you beaten, whipped, stoned, crucified upside down, or beheaded. My personal view is that any skeptic who is attracted to that explanation is simply not skeptical enough.
Stars: 4.5 out of 5
It would be worth another read and I would recommend it to someone who:
Other books along this theme would be:
Keller, Timothy. Making Sense of God: An Invitation to the Skeptical. Viking, 2016.
Lewis, C. S. Mere Christianity. New York: HarperCollins, 2001.
Some photos I took while out running.
For more photos, click here
For a free ebook of village pictures, click here
If all your friends jumped off a cliff…never mind.
Last Friday we went on a kayaking adventure with friends. Being on the water brings back a flood of Minnesota memories. I felt like I was 13 again on White Sand Lake.
