Dabbling into Dickens

Everyone knows the heart-gripping, painful conclusion of Tale of Two Cities. And everyone, of course, knows this is one of my favorite and most revered chapters in the narrow sphere of secular literature that I can ever recall reading. Here's a snippet:

I see that I hold a sanctuary in their hearts, and in the hearts of their descendants, generations hence. I see her, an old woman, weeping for me on the anniversary of this day. I see her and her husband, their course done, lying side by side in their last earthly bed, and I know that each was not more honoured and held sacred in the other's soul, than I was in the souls of both...It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known.

These to me are perhaps the most powerful lyrics of the entire piece. Yet they pale, fade, wither, etc. when compared to a single phrase uttered by Jesus on the cross, "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? which is interpreted, My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?" Here is the ultimate sacrifice, the ultimate price, for behind it we find the most meaningful purpose of all creation. Perhaps this is where Dicken's novel is so touching; here, where it climaxes with asymptotic approach the ultimate sacrifice ever known to mankind.

And then we have the classic, epic, (and potentially hackneyed) opening stanza to this book, in which Dickens poetically recounts in the most superfluous fashion:

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way -- in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.

Here it seems as if Dickens was gathering some inspiration from Paul's testimony in 2 Corinthians 6:9-11, where the apostle describes a life of ministry as one who is being poured out on behalf of the souls of those for whom he labored. Where in other places the apostle describes the new covenant ministry (4:1, etc), here he portrays the living of the new covenant ministers:

As unknown and yet well known; as dying and yet behold we live; as being disciplined and yet not being put to death; As made sorrowful yet always rejoicing; as poor yet enriching many; as having nothing and yet possessing all things. Our mouth is opened to you, Corinthians; our heart is enlarged. 

For all the verbosity that is Charles Dickens, what I most appreciate about this chapter is his narrative personification (de rigueur?) of Fate and Death, the Woodman and the Farmer. The harbingers of revolution are bustling about, but they work unceasingly; they work silently. And it is this tantalizing art that makes A Tale of Two Cities into such a classic. So we end here tonight, with an excerpt from what now happens to be my favorite chapter in English literature:

It is likely enough that, rooted in the woods of France and Norway, there were growing trees, when that sufferer was put to death, already marked by the Woodman, Fate, to come down and be sawn into boards, to make a certain movable framework with a sack and a knife in it, terrible in history. It is likely enough that in the rough outhouses of some tillers of the heavy lands adjacent to Paris, there were sheltered from the weather that very day, rude carts, bespattered with rustic mire, snuffed about by pigs, and roosted in by poultry, which the Farmer, Death, had already set apart to be his tumbrels of the Revolution. But that Woodman and that Farmer, though they work unceasingly, work silently, and no one heard them as they went about with muffled tread: the rather, forasmuch as to entertain any suspicion that they were awake, was to be atheistical and traitorous. 

Do you know Leo Tolstoy?

"Have you seen any of my later writings?" Tolstoy inquired of a visitor who came to him as the admirer of "The Cossacks," of "War and Peace," of "Anna Karenina." The question referred to his religious writings. 


When he said no, Tolstoy could only exclaim, "Ah, then you do not know me at all. We must become acquainted." 


- from Ivan Panin's Lectures on Russian Literature.

The Bridge & Channel of God

A brother recommended this book to me during my last semester of college; I read it in three days. If any ministry book played had a significant role in my decision to attend the training, it was this one. I've purchased at least five (maybe six) copies and given many away to college students and fellow trainees. The first four chapters are messages given to college students; the sixth chapter is entitled, "Man Being the Bridge and Channel of God." This is an awesome chapter. Chapters 2 - 4 are Q&A sessions. One very helpful question reads, "What should I do if I have the heart to serve but am still in school and feel that my studies are a distraction?" Another student asks, "What is the difference between our thoughts and God's shining?" The final lines of Witness Lee's response reads:

We must emphasize again that the most important thing is our intention. If my intention is to fear the Lord and seek the Lord's way, even if I make a mistake, it will become right because my desire is to take the Lord's way. In terms of reasoning, this may be wrong, but in terms of principle, it is right...To be right in principle means that in our heart we want only God and that we therefore obey any feeling that comes from God. (p.49).

These words are very encouraging and practical. Here's another paragraph I highlighted:

Every one of us should consider what kind of person we want to be. Do we want to be a half-saved person, a "gray" Christian, or a Christian who loves the Lord absolutely?" Everyone in the world knows that the most absolute ones are the most profitable ones...If we desire to be worldly people, we should be worldly people absolutely; if we desire to be Christians, we should be Christians absolutely. Those who are wishy-washy are the least profitable and the lowest. No matter what we do, we must be absolute in doing it. The only requirement for a Christian is absoluteness. We should either not follow the Lord or follow Him absolutely. To be a Christian we must be absolute. (p.41).

Selah...

Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist says...

"For all of life's disparities in talent and wealth, each of us is given exactly the same amount of time in each hour, and in each day, and in each year..." 


From a commencement address to law school graduates, transcribed here. 

"Everything depends on God's mercy"

That is the title of the first message given by Watchman Nee during the resumption of his ministry in September, 1947. I probably need to read this message again....

It can be found here: Collected Works of Watchman Nee, Vol. 57: The Resumption of Watchman Nee's Ministry, ch.1. And is also available online at www.ministrybooks.com.

Verse of the Week

Here is a verse I've enjoyed this week and finally was able to locate today:

"Now give me wisdom and knowledge, that I may go out and come in before this people; for who can judge this great people of Yours?"

- 2 Chronicles 1:10

This was Solomon's prayer - that he would be proper before the people of God. As we "go out and come in" before God's people, we need to have such a heart. The next verse is encouraging to me (v.11):

"Then God said to Solomon, Because this is on your heart and you have not asked for riches, wealth, or honor, nor for the life of those who hate you, nor have you even asked for long life, but have asked for wisdom and knowledge for yourself so that you may judge My people over whom I have made you king;"

The more we know God, the more we will know what is on His heart. Then, rather than asking for material blessing or outward consolation, our heart would be turned to care for the people of God. Eventually, like the sons of Korah in Psalm 84 we could proclaim, "Blessed is the man whose strength is in You; In whose heart are the highways to Zion." 

The Tortoise Wins the Race

A diligent seeker of the Lord could possibly finish the entire New Testament by studying two hours a day for two and a half years. If the church, however, took seven and a half years to get through the entire New Testament this would still be wonderful. Never forget the race between the hare and the tortoise. The tortoise wins the race. If we keep going slowly, we will win the race. All the "running ones" will be defeated, but the working ones will win the race. We need to eat regularly, continuously, and slowly. I advise you not to go too fast, but to go slowly. You will then reach the goal. If we had started this practice ten years ago, we would have finished the entire New Testament already. Even if you get through half of the New Testament, you will see that you are different. Also, if the entire church could get through half of the New Testament, the church would be different.

(Witness Lee, Elders' Training, Book 03: The Way to Carry Out the Vision, Chapter 13)

Quotes of the Week

"It is true that we face difficulties in our work. But whenever we encounter problems and difficulties in the work, such as opposition and rejection, we discover whom we are really serving, what is the center of our service, and for what we serve. This was the problem between Paul and Barnabas. During times of trial, the attraction of the work, the natural human elements, and our own inclinations drop away; our work begins to be purified. Our service must not be based on natural attraction, human affinity, our own inclinations, the attraction of the brothers and sisters, or the work itself. It must be only based on God."

- Watchman Nee

Twitter v. Facebook, round 1

http://www.npr.org/2011/07/16/138160765/twitter-co-founder-biz-stone-plays-not-my-job

Hilarious account of facebook's acquisition talks from twitter co-founder, Biz Stone. Check it out.

Exploring the Triune God

“For many today the Trinity lacks the vibrancy with which it once charged the early church and has become an arcane fundamental arousing little appreciation or even interest.”

(Kerry S. Robichaux, “Axioms of the Trinity,” Affirmation and Critique. 1996)

For proper study of the significance of Christ’s incarnation, I hope firstly that our view and attitude regarding the Trinity would be proper. Though this subject has driven theological debate from the early church to present, we cannot afford to dismiss this as a topic reserved for only for theologians. Any endeavor toward a pellucid understanding of Christ’s incarnation requires a proper view regarding what the Trinity is, and equally important, what it is not. That being said, the scope of this blog does not allow for exhaustive exploration of the Trinity. However, related to our study of the Trinity I would make the following points:  

• Avoid “spiritual myopia” that may develop if you try to understand the Trinity apart from a desire to know God and the purpose of God.  Our God in His very being is Triune; eternally three yet one. With Genesis 1:26, for example, we open a window into the purpose of God that is intimately related to triune nature of God: “And God said, Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness.” This establishes an important principle. So approach any study of the Trinity with a view to see: 
• How is the triune nature of God related to the purpose of God.
• What are the implications of a Triune God in the economy of God’s salvation? Related to this was found the following article from Affirmation and Critique (quoted below) tremendously helpful, and would wholeheartedly commend it to you.

• Beware of “Trinity diagrams” that claim to graphically illustrate the Trinity. We are not obligated to construct tidy diagrams attempting to systematize the Trinity or reconcile the triune nature of God. These endeavors jeopardize the truth and one point the truth. Remember, you are not studying the Krebs’s cycle or some other natural phenomenon that can easily be reduced to a chart or graph. This is the nature of God.

John Calvin’s utterance rings appropriate here: “Finitum non capax infinitum.” It means literally “the finite cannot grasp the infinite.” Pertaining to God’s incomprehensibility this implies that human beings bound by space and time will never have a comprehensive knowledge of God. Yet this surely does not suggest that God is fundamentally unknowable or unintelligible. Surely, we should not shy away from a rich and full realization of the truth regarding the Triune God.

Closing Thoughts:

We need to embrace the entire revelation of the Holy Scriptures. If our attitude regarding the Triune God is shallow and cloudy, our understanding of Christ’s incarnation will consequently be superficial and limited.