This morning, I was reminded of a short-yet-thick and significant thought from Os Guinness that captures a mistake that we so easily make and must constantly/consciously work to avoid. Consider the perils of living by the latter-half of what Guinness writes, “Either we conform our desires to the truth or we conform the truth to our desires.”
There’s a hermenuetical issue here that really, really matters. It is foundational to the authority we choose to follow, the beliefs we choose to embrace, and the behaviors that flow out of those beliefs. It’s watershed stuff.
These ideas are fresh on my mind this week as we commence Week #1 of our two-week residency with our Doctor of Ministry in Ministry to the Emerging Generations cohort here at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. We’re digging deep into issues of evangelism, discipleship, and spiritual formation in the setting of our contemporary culture. . . a culture that elevates desires, relativism, emotions, following one’s heart, and the resulting “authenticity.” This is important stuff, particularly as it relates to the tender and sensitive contemporary issues related to marriage, sexual identity, and gender. Who will we listen to? Who do we listen to?
Some timely help that builds on the words of Guinness comes from Tim Keller in this talk on “Satanic Exposition.” I’m passing it on because it’s well-worth your time. What do you think?