Account Balances

By Matt

Small Group last week had the guise of being about Kanye West's three videos for the song "Jesus Walks," but it was really my excuse to bring up and talk about that ever-lovin' MTD: Moralistic Therapeutic Deism. MTD is the religion of choice for the new generation, a by-product of over-tolerance, over-emphasis on diversity, and communists. (Kidding.) The fifth unofficial tenet of MTD is "Good people go to heaven." While everyone saw the folly in the first four, that one was a sticking point. On one hand there's Jesus saying, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." But on the other hand there's the image of a loving father who wants his children with him. Our initial instinct is to say these two images don't jive and at some point every Christian in his or her walk is going to wrestle with this issue. (Hopefully.)

So, this morning as I was contemplating what I should read Romans popped into my mind. So, I started looking at some resources to determine what the main theme of the book is. I realize that since the epistles cover so many topics, I tend to read them piecemeal. So, my goal for now is to read them as a cohesive letter with different topics all lending support to the main argument. Anyways, the main theme of Romans is paid in full or how we are justified with God. I instantly thought back to small group. Coincedence? Let's find out.

I read: Chapters 1-3

Right in the first chapter Paul says something interesting. He talks about folks who don't know God but know that he's at work. "But the basic reality of God is plain enough," he says, "Open your eyes and there it is! By taking a long and thoughtful look at what God has created, people have always been able to see what their eyes can't see: eternal power, for instance, and the mystery of his divine being."

In here are the verses that Malone's outdoors program use as their mission statement. God's creation, the earth and everything in it, is a tremendous witness to his power and creativity and wisdom. I simply can't understand scientists who know the secrets of life on earth and how the universe works and can't see God's hand in it. As the book says, it takes too much faith to be an atheist.

But it's good to know that God didn't just create mountains and lakes and ponds and oceans and streams and rivers and grassy fields and night skies and terrible storms just for aesthetics. They're there as sign-posts pointing upwards, his signature across the bottom of the canvas. I think we can all be grateful to God for putting in front of our noses clear evidence that he exists.

Sidenote: a picture of two Corcoran jump boots now graces my wall. I think that'll be a good enough reminder :)