C. S. Lewis thought that God meets us in experiences which have no proper English names. Lewis gave to such experiences the name 'Sehnsucht,' a German term rooted in 'sehnen' (to long for, to yearn after) and 'sucht' (sickness, passion, rage). 'Sehnsucht' thus means a passionate longing. 'Gottesehnsucht' (God-longing) identifies the place where this longing is meant to rest--in God Himself. "For he satisfies the longing soul, and the hungry soul he fills with good things." Psalm 107:9
Friday, March 10, 2006
Shower Musings
Everyone seems to do his best thinking in the shower. Well, I wouldn't say this is so great, but it's a thought. It is funny how we tend to project our wants, desires, etc. onto matters. I think the classical (literally) example of this is Plato's ideal of the "Philosopher-King." Well, theology types do the same thing when they tend to make salvation into a theology exam. They demand exact distinctions be made re: justification by grace alone through faith alone because of Christ alone; and I agree. But at the bottom, we are not saved by being able to articulate this formula, and God will not demand exacting answers to theology questions before granting heaven. Or should I say the questions will be less a matter of soteriology (the study of salvation) than a matter of Christology (the study of Christ). We are not saved by believing in justification by faith; rather we are saved by believing in Christ! As Tom Wright has said in his Romans lectures (and I am paraphrasing), there will be many who are justified by faith who don't necessarily believe in justification by faith. Why? Because they have faith in Christ, not faith in faith.
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