Listening to the Giants

These blog entries are going to be somewhat challenging because of one glaring fact: John Calvin did not like to talk or write about himself. Here is an excerpt from the biography I am currently reading:  “The location of Calvin’s grave is unknown, and that was the way he wanted it. Nothing would have horrified him more than the monument to the Reformation in Geneva with its enormous image of the Frenchman. He deliberately wrote next to nothing about himself and his life. ” You might ask, “And yet this is the “giant” you want to write about?” You bet it is. So what made this man great? Well….there were a lot of reasons, but what I want to focus on in the next few paragraphs is the discipline of John Calvin. Now it should not be a shock to any student of church history that every “giant” was disciplined to a certain degree. Theodore Beza (Calvin's spiritual son in the faith) wrote, “He (Calvin) worked hard at his university studies and there are still trustworthy men ali...

Every pastor-scholar must spend time in his study. No man who aspires to such a position can avoid it. Undoubtedly, there are some men who thrive on it. Others die trying (one of my older peers in seminary died during finals week). Yet few were like Edwards. Edwards’ first biographer penned the words that would forever define him: “He commonly spent thirteen hours, every day, in his study.” Impressive, huh. Yet many fault Edwards for such diligence. They accuse him of being an “ivory tower” theologian, who was aloof and disengaged with the sheep he was called to “shepherd”. Is this assessment of Edwards correct? No….well, mostly no. Here is a more balanced understanding of Jonathan Edwards: First , Edwards’ study was always accessible to his family and his congregants. Samuel Hopkins (Edwards’ first biographer) writes: “He believed he could do more good conversing with persons under religious impressions in his study where they were treated with all desirab...

Here are #13--#24: #13—“But how much greater is the spiritual blessing we receive, both in this life and in the world to come, if constrained by the love of Christ, we act as God’s stewards, respecting that, with which He is pleased to entrust us!” #14—“Our Heavenly Father never takes any earthly thing from His children except He means to give them something better instead ”. Early in my Christian walk I would have read this quote and believed that God would bless me like Job (Job 42:12-17). Now in my 23 rd or 29 th year as a Christian, I understand that the blessing may or may not be material , but it is always spiritual. #15—“We have to guard against practically despising the discipline of the Lord, though we may not do so in word, and against fainting under discipline; since all is intended for blessing to us”. The reader must not have a one-dimensional understanding of “fainting”. “Fainting” can mean wilting under the heat of God’s discipline, which ...