God's Workshop

Some quotations have an unmistakable ring of truth. This is one:

"God's truth is most effectively learned and lived in relationships. Friendships hold the promise of grace!" - R. Kent Hughes

Gee...Something tells me he didn't read that in a book ;)

And while his focus at the time was directed towards friendships, is what he is saying not similarly true concerning all relationships with others? Relationships are perhaps His most effective tool to teach us how to live; not only in relationship to Him, or to our chosen friends only, but also in relationships with our enemies, family members, peers, coworkers, and neighbors. Each kind of relationship is distinct, and yet we both learn and experience God's truth as we work to honor Him in each one. As we move ever closer to having, with each person, the kind of relationship that He obliges us to seek, we see Scripture and the old stories come alive in ways we would never have been able to see otherwise.

There are not many books that I have read more than twice, but C.S. Lewis' The Four Loves is one such book. Storge στοργη, Philia φιλια, Eros έρως, Agapē αγαπη; so many different words describing distinctly different manifestations of love. Yet each, in their proper place, are beautiful. When I was in California last year I picked up The Four Loves on CD. It was a very good pick, if I may say so myself. It turns out that The Four Loves is the only professional recording of C.S. Lewis' voice. To read the book is one thing; to hear him read it in his own words is altogether another.

In the end, I would propose that, in like manner, Christianity is not the sort of thing that can be understood simply from the reading of a book. Yes, we are to be men and women of the Book. And yet, it seems there are truths that He would have for us to discover that do not fit within the pages of any book, even His own.