smokeygecko Thoughts

I walked into a well-known chain of Christian bookstores in Bristol, England to enquire about the new biography of Francis Schaeffer. I couldn’t find the book on the shelves so I asked the attendant at the desk. The attendant asked for the details of the book and at the time I had forgotten the title so I said that it was simply the new biography of Francis Schaeffer.

The attendant looked a little confused and asked for a spelling. Fair enough – it’s not a common name really. But then they asked what he had done. I found out that then that they had not heard of Francis Schaeffer.

Francis Schaeffer has written 22 books, some of which have been very influential in Christian (and some non-Christian) circles – yet this book store didn’t have any titles by him nor had heard of Colin Duriez’s new biography on him. I’m not concerned about people never having read Schaeffer – I hadn’t until 3 years ago. What is more concerning is that a leading Christian bookstore which in my opinion has a responsibility to it’s readers to provide them with quality material, could not reference one of Christianity’s greatest thinkers of the 20th Century!

Our bookstores these days are filled with popular, enjoyable, easy-to-read works. If you look, there are some great books to be found here with depth and wisdom, oh yes, but they are far outweighed by what many see as spiritually-weak pop-books. On the subject of our reading as believers, Ravi Zacharias says this,

Is your own reading shallow or deep? The wonder that you will find in the shallow end can only be for a child. Swimming in the deep end is for the mature. If a follower of Jesus does not mature in his or her reading, the church could end up running the biggest nursery in the world.

Ravi Zacharias, Recapture the Wonder

So what is the responsibility of our Christian bookstores? Do they exist merely for profit, to shift as many products as possible? Or do they exist as resource-centers for the church to use so that we might grow in faith and maturity in Christ? The church in my country in so many ways is a nursery already. My hope is that as a church we will glorify our God with our minds, seeking to learn more to the glory of God in a humble act of worship.

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Over 200 years ago a bill was passed in the House of Commons outlawing the slave trade in all parts of the British Empire. A great injustice to humanity was ended and a practice that had been around for thousands of years ceased overnight in many parts of the world. It was largely the work of one man that brought this momentous change about. His name was William Wilberforce, and he was a Christian.

Britain at the time, though a professed Christian nation, was a nation full of uncommitted believers. Many people were more concerned with the gratification of their fleshly desires rather than playing their part in bringing to earth the Kingdom of God. The Bible to some people was relegated to a book of good ideas and morals, not actually holding any direct authority in their own lives. Yet one man, who knew his God, who held the Bible as authoritative and inspiring, changed the world.

And that is what we are all called to. Christians need to realise the power of their God and the authority of His Word. To many Christians today – and especially young Christians – the Bible is not the authority in their lives that it should be. We have relegated its power, demoted truth and celebrated emotion. Sensation is the measure of faith of our fellow believer. We fight with other denominations, even squabble amongst ourselves over how we operate. We look for instant results and keep track of successes for only that week without strategising for the future or celebrating our history.

There are many injustices in the world today. There are still people being sold into slavery. There are governments abusing their citizens and there are many people dying of starvation. The church will be able to do nothing about these things unless we get over ourselves and get out of watered-down, hyped up, good looking, microwave societal, flashy, giddy, day-care centres and realise that what we are sitting on is dynamite. The word of God has the power to change lives, societies, countries and the world. William Wilberforce knew the authority of the Scripture and acted upon it, will we?

But a word of warning to those seeking instant results. The truth of our calling is not measured by the progress we can observe in a week, a month, a year, a decade or indeed, a lifetime. We may never see the fruit of our labour in whatever area we are called to, but then again, we have no entitlement to it. When we acknowledge that all glory belongs to God, then truly we are free to labour tirelessly for those holy callings he has given us with all of the strength he has given us.

nb. This is a revised copy of a previous post.

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I can look back on times when men wrote hymns, when the Holy Spirit breathed life into worship, when God was worshiped for God. In my generation so often, both in church and outside, we simply sing about ourselves. Truth is replaced by emotion; conviction replaced by subdued apathy. God is often not proclaimed for who He is and what He is done.

Passion, for me, is getting things right. This latest song from David Crowder (available on the album God of This City) has gripped me. It is powerful, it is truth, it is worship.

At the start
he was there, he was there
In the end,
he’ll be there, he’ll be there

And After all our hands have wrought
He forgives

Oh the Glory of it all is:
he came here
For the rescue of us all
that we may live
for the glory of it all
for the glory of it all

All is lost
find him there, find him there
After night
Dawn is there, Dawn is there

After all falls apart
he repairs he repairs

Oh the Glory of it all is:
he came here
for the rescue of us all
that we may live
for the glory of it all

oh he is here
for redemption from the fall
that we may live
for the glory of it all
oh the glory of it all
the glory of it all
oh the glory of it all

After night
comes the light
dawn is here
dawn is here
it’s a new day
it’s a new day
everything will change
things will never be the same
we will never be the same
we will never be the same
we will never be the same
we will never be the same

Oh, The glory of it all is
you came here
for the rescue of us all
that we may live
for the glory of it all

Oh you are here
with redemption for us all
that we may live
for the glory of it all
for the glory of it all
oh the glory of it all.

Lyrics from cowboylyrics.

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