Remembering

Today I had the sad news that Don Lewis, one of my professors at Regent College, where both Roz and I did our Masters, had died. I only had him as my teacher for one course, but it was a wonderful course – the Christian Pastor in Historical Perspective or some similar title.

This wasn’t a course that he was the central teacher on. Instead he invited various Regent faculty and friends for half the 3 hour lecture block to teach on different pastors from Christian history – so Sven Soderlund began the course with a look at Paul, and along the way we had Jim Houston teaching on Teresa of Avila, Jim Packer on Richard Baxter, Bruce Hindmarsh on John Newton and Darrel Johnson on Charles Spurgeon amongst others.

I loved those Monday evening classes, as the autumn skies darkened and the Vancouver rain drew in, and then the Vancouver snow fell, they provided a brightness to the term, which was in many ways a conflicting term for me. It was the term I switched from the MDiv (preparation for pastoral ministry) course to the MCS with a biblical studies focus – partly driven by the difficulties of coping with the practical elements of the course in the midst of miscarriage grief from that summer and partly driven by the realisation that the parts of the course I loved most were the Biblical Studies (and history), and much less the systematic theology and practical elements.

I can remember at some point – I think actually the following term, in the spring, Don Lewis had heard about this decision, and he tapped me on the shoulder at the end of chapel and invited up to his study to have a conversation. Essentially he wanted to encourage me not to rule out pastoral ministry at some point, and to encourage me with stories of his one of his (and many other’s in Vancouver) own introverted and socially awkward minister.

It is a conversation I still reflect on – and where I suspect I still do not know quite how the seeds sown in it will play out, but it is also a conversation I reflect on because it showed that someone cared enough to seek me out. I don’t know exactly what prompted him to do it, but I am deeply grateful for that moment.

The other significant feature for me of those Monday evening classes in that in addition to guest speakers lecturing on their passions we also got to read and discuss for the other half of class George Marsden’s biography of New England philosopher/theologian/pastor Jonathan Edwards.

For me this was a wonderful eyeopener. I had read of Edwards, and even read some Edwards himself, but always through the lens of others like John Piper or Iain Murray (who wrote a biography of Edwards), and often their views of Edwards tend to be rather uncritical.

George Marsden, by contrast is an academic historian, and so is willing to be critical (in the right and positive sense of the word), yet has great sympathy for Edwards. I realised I could learn lots from Edwards, while not having to adopt all of his positions exactly. A while ago I posted some quotes from Marsden’s book which sum up what I loved learning as I read, and I’m deeply grateful to Don Lewis for the introduction to this book and the wonderful context in which to discuss it.

First of all a famous quote from the young Edwards:

And as I was walking there, and looked up on the sky and the clouds; there came into my mind, a sweet sense of the glorious majesty and grace of God, that I knew not how to express… …in a sweet conjunction: majesty and meekness joined together: it was a sweet and gentle, and holy majesty; and also a majestic meekness; an awful sweetness; a high, and great, and holy gentleness.

Marsden comments a little later on

In fact, it was only when Jonathan’s vision expanded to appreciate that the triune God who controlled this vast universe must be ineffably good, beautiful and loving beyond human comprehension that he could lose himself in God.

I’m looking forward to re-reading more.  I don’t think it is necessary to agree with every detail of how Edwards understood God’s sovereignty to appreciate his desire to relate everything back to God, and in particular God’s extravagant, overflowing love for his creation that means God is always seeking to share himself with his creatures and draw them into his life. 

Edwards has a God-centredness and God-saturatedness that we need in our day.  God has joined together majesty and meekness, gentleness and majesty, holiness and love.  We must not separate them out to fit our agendas – or anyone else’s.  

What struck me particularly forcibly at the time can be summarised in these two extracts:

Edwards believed that he could develop a  unified account of all knowledge, but it could not be discovered by experience and reason alone.  God might speak in all of nature and in all of life, but the only place where one could find  the key to unlock the whole system was in Scripture.  All knowledge must begin there. Scripture was not just a source of information, but the necessary guide to a radical life changing perspective.  As every New England child was taught: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge” (Proverbs 1:7).  The starting point for unraveling the mysteries of the universe must be the shattering revelation of one’s total inadequacy and a recognition of God’s love in Jesus Christ. One who was so changed could then experience how all creation was one harmonious hymn of praise to the glories of the creator and the mercies of Christ.  Without the grace that gave sinful and rebellious people ears to hear, they would never  hear the sublime  Christ-like choruses or see how the particular notes of reality all fit together.

I love that in the Regent library where I studied for 3 years other similar bible verses were written in beautiful calligraphy so that they could not be missed each day as you walked in – a beautiful reminder that all wisdom comes from God, and begins with humble dependence on Him.

And then this quote, introduced by Marsden:

Edwards was captivated by the idea that God’s purpose in creating the universe is to bring harmonious communications  among minds, or spiritual beings, and  every detail of physical creation points to that loving reality, epitomized in Christ.  In this enthralling framework he continued his meditation:

“When we are delighted with flowery meadows and gentle breezes of wind, we may consider that we only see the emanations of the sweet benevolence of Jesus Christ; when we behold the fragrant rose and lily, we see his love and purity. So the green trees and fields, and singing of birds, are the emanations of his infinite joy and benignity; the easiness and naturalness of trees and vines [are] shadows of his infinite beauty and loveliness; the crystal rivers and mumuring streams have the footsteps of his sweet grace and beauty… That beauteous light with which the world is filled in a clear day is a lively shadow of his spotless holiness and happiness, and delight in communicating himself.”

I love the ideas here, even if it needs reading a few times to catch the thread.  Essentially Edwards is celebrating the way in which God delights to share his goodness with us in the natural world.  We recently moved to Carlisle, near the English Lakes, and walking in the mountains I echo a hearty amen to Edwards words here.

All the good things we have in this life are because God loves to share his life with us.  God is holy and happy – and loves to share his goodness and grace with us.  The world was made, according to Edwards, for God to display his glory.  The reason that isn’t self centred of God is because the way God’s glory is displayed is by him sharing his life and goodness with us, his creatures.  The creation of the world is the overflow of the love that the Triune God has enjoyed for all eternity – Father, Son and Holy Spirit, one God united in love, overflow in love to create a world to share that love with others.  God delights to show that love to us, and draw us in to him – and the beauty we see all around us is one great reminder of that reality.

And so I’m grateful to Don Lewis for introducing me to this book which helped me reflect on Edwards, and more importantly on the God who Edwards and Don Lewis both served. I’m grateful for Don Lewis taking the initiative to have a conversation with me, and with so many others, and I’m grateful for his impact on the lives of so many students going through Regent College.