A Charge to Keep

A dear friend wrote to me the other day, “Remember, you have something the world longs to understand.” I haven’t been able to get that phrase out of my mind since.

Of course, she was talking about the saving love of Jesus Christ and the good news of His gospel. I’ve long fought the temptation to blog – partly from practical concerns, mostly out of fear of rejection and criticism. I see now that such thoughts were rife with the same insidious pride the Evil One uses to extinguish our courage, squelch our faith, and keep us from ever attempting any kingdom business at all. A humbling lesson, to be sure.

That said, I probably don’t have much real wisdom or experience to share – I am but a naïve recent college grad struggling to transition through a radical calling shift into the responsibilities of independent manhood. But, regardless of my lack of experience, I can share the transcendent gospel of Jesus Christ. As the Apostle Paul exhorted his young protégé in II Tim. 1, "Do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord… By the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, guard the good deposit entrusted to you."

Thank God that the “good deposit” knows not the limits of age, wisdom, or experience.

The starting of this blog comes at a strange confluence in time – it was only two weeks ago that I urged a group of eager young students through a series of lectures at my alma mater to be sober-minded and proactive in keeping the charge of Christ; I wonder now if this blog might be a small way in which I myself can do the same – I certainly pray that it will be so.

A word about this site's focus. Much soul-searching over the last several months has begun to crystalize the specifics of my life’s telos. I'll probably write more later on the details of the above-mentioned calling transition, but for now, here are a few quick, bullet-summaries.

        

1)   Promote faithful generosity (II Cor. 9:6-8)

2)   Foster a spirit of collaboration/unity within the Church (I Cor. 1:10)

3)   Train and encourage godly men (II Tim. 2:2)

4)   Defend the poor and the innocent (Prov. 31:8-9)

Aside from these, you'll probably find an occasional post regarding music, sports, and maybe a funny story or two. In all, I pray you'll see Jesus...

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I am a wanderer, as are all who do not call this world home. But as Tolkien said, not all who wander are lost, and we that are in Christ indeed carry the fire – the hope for which this world is so desperately crying out. I look forward to bearing it with you…

I know time is ticking strong

The load is heavy, the days are long

The stride is steady, it is straight

We will carry the weight

~Andy Zipf, “We Will Carry”~