Song on Miracles that leads me to smile and enjoy the beauty of life and truth and all things hopeful.... See a beautifully produced music video mash-up with artists from several genres blended into one song, "Miracles."
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Inspiration in the key of awesome
Song on Miracles that leads me to smile and enjoy the beauty of life and truth and all things hopeful.... See a beautifully produced music video mash-up with artists from several genres blended into one song, "Miracles."
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
marriage and the call for redemptive leadership
I have been thinking a lot about test God puts in the path of a marriage. My thoughts brought me back to a man i greatly admire and I draw strength from his testimony. May his story do the same for you. The except below is from my thesis on marriage.
Historical Example of a Marriage Marked by the Intellectual Attributes
A marriage centered on God and His attributes is a marriage that functions well in adversity. The wisdom of God rules the heart, the truthfulness of God stabilizes it, and God’s knowledge of man and his destiny secures it, in His love.
A newlywed couple was walking in the German Harz Mountains enjoying the scenery, but they did not realize until it was too late that a storm was fast approaching. Surrounded by lightening and thunder, the bride was overcome with fear. Though the two made it home safely, the bride suffered a nervous breakdown which left her frail and an invalid for the rest of her life.
The woman’s name was Annie Warfield. She was the wife of theologian Benjamin Breckinridge Warfield, who was considered one of American’s top theologians at the time. He studied under Charles Hodge at Princeton Seminary and was a Professor at Princeton until his death in 1921. Annie and Benjamin were married August 13, 1876. Soon after they traveled to Europe so Benjamin could study there. The two had their faithful encounter with the violent storm just before Benajmin began his studies.
Annie never fully recovered. In her last years, Annie was bedridden and in need of constant attention. Warfield became her primary care giver, and he faithfully nursed her for more than 40 years of marriage. Students and friends noted the tender care he showed his wife during the rare times they were out in public. In the later years, Benjamin did not leave her side for more than two hours at a time, leaving only to do lecture before rushing back home to her aid.
Amazingly, he did not neglect his duties at Princeton. He was an author, and he was a mentor to many of his pupils. J. Gresham Machen stated that Warfield “had done about as much work as ten ordinary men.” Yet, sacrifices were required. Warfield was a man of considerable talent who could command a great influence over the church at large, but he had the wisdom to see that his primary task was to tend to his house and wife. He gave up fame out of love and chose the bedside over the prominence of the pulpit. It is no doubt why one pupil wrote, “I am more and more impressed with him; he is certainly one of the very biggest men in the Church either in this country or any other.”
Before he was a theologian and a husband, Warfield was a great lover of God. He understood the nature of God as wise and truthful. He trusted in the sovereignty of God. The sure footing with which his marriage held is surely a witness to Warfield’s belief in God’s wisdom and knowledge over all circumstances. It was his abiding understanding of God’s nature that made the doldrums of suffering in his marriage; resound with the melody of redemptive leadership. He saw his God given place to be a husband and remained by his wife’s side even when putting her away could have been justified even in the formal and rather Victorian setting in which he lived. God and Warfield's knowledge of him strengthened and girded up his soul to bear the weight of such a glory (Rom 8:17-18). His witness shimmered with the brilliance of this glory, a glory born of suffering; eerily reminiscent of the cross and beautifully emblematic of Redemptive love.
Historical Example of a Marriage Marked by the Intellectual Attributes
A marriage centered on God and His attributes is a marriage that functions well in adversity. The wisdom of God rules the heart, the truthfulness of God stabilizes it, and God’s knowledge of man and his destiny secures it, in His love.
A newlywed couple was walking in the German Harz Mountains enjoying the scenery, but they did not realize until it was too late that a storm was fast approaching. Surrounded by lightening and thunder, the bride was overcome with fear. Though the two made it home safely, the bride suffered a nervous breakdown which left her frail and an invalid for the rest of her life.
The woman’s name was Annie Warfield. She was the wife of theologian Benjamin Breckinridge Warfield, who was considered one of American’s top theologians at the time. He studied under Charles Hodge at Princeton Seminary and was a Professor at Princeton until his death in 1921. Annie and Benjamin were married August 13, 1876. Soon after they traveled to Europe so Benjamin could study there. The two had their faithful encounter with the violent storm just before Benajmin began his studies.
Annie never fully recovered. In her last years, Annie was bedridden and in need of constant attention. Warfield became her primary care giver, and he faithfully nursed her for more than 40 years of marriage. Students and friends noted the tender care he showed his wife during the rare times they were out in public. In the later years, Benjamin did not leave her side for more than two hours at a time, leaving only to do lecture before rushing back home to her aid.
Amazingly, he did not neglect his duties at Princeton. He was an author, and he was a mentor to many of his pupils. J. Gresham Machen stated that Warfield “had done about as much work as ten ordinary men.” Yet, sacrifices were required. Warfield was a man of considerable talent who could command a great influence over the church at large, but he had the wisdom to see that his primary task was to tend to his house and wife. He gave up fame out of love and chose the bedside over the prominence of the pulpit. It is no doubt why one pupil wrote, “I am more and more impressed with him; he is certainly one of the very biggest men in the Church either in this country or any other.”
Before he was a theologian and a husband, Warfield was a great lover of God. He understood the nature of God as wise and truthful. He trusted in the sovereignty of God. The sure footing with which his marriage held is surely a witness to Warfield’s belief in God’s wisdom and knowledge over all circumstances. It was his abiding understanding of God’s nature that made the doldrums of suffering in his marriage; resound with the melody of redemptive leadership. He saw his God given place to be a husband and remained by his wife’s side even when putting her away could have been justified even in the formal and rather Victorian setting in which he lived. God and Warfield's knowledge of him strengthened and girded up his soul to bear the weight of such a glory (Rom 8:17-18). His witness shimmered with the brilliance of this glory, a glory born of suffering; eerily reminiscent of the cross and beautifully emblematic of Redemptive love.
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