Things that we have heard and known, that our fathers have told us. We will not hide them from their children, but tell to the coming generation the glorious deeds of the Lord, and his might, and the wonders that he has done (Psalm 78:3,4 ESV)
History and Faith
Faith is founded in God’s actions in the past. We study the past, history, to allow faith to have fertile soil.
Sometimes that soil is a complicated mix of minerals, nutrients, and waste. But mixed together, the soil of history is rich, profound, and valuable.
This week, Jubilee is celebrating Robert Burns Day. Burns was an 18th Century Scottish poet. He lived a wild, often lawless life. He sowed his oats freely and drank his large quantities of whiskey straight. He rejected authority, particularly the authority of the kirk.
But surprisingly, Presbyterians love Robert Burns. Pressies love Burns for at least two reasons.
First, his unrighteous choices and actions remind us of our own sinfulness. We could be just as wild… in fact we are. Perhaps not with Burns’ particular rebellions. But our purposeful push-back against God is no different than His. We, like Burns, are poster-children for the need of redemption, found only in faith in Christ Jesus.
So Burns’ life is a part of the gospel story. A part that we need to be reminded of.
Second, as a part of the gospel, Burns’ art was both earthy and majestic. His poetry (you might recall Love is Like a Red, Red Rose, or Auld Lange Syne) captures 18th century Scottish sentiments, culture, and heart. He was deft in his use of metaphor, allegory, and visual descriptions. In his poems, Burns displays our need for humility, patience, reality, and even love.
Burns’ beautiful poems are a reminder that God reveals the majestic in the mundane, mines value from the broken, and transforms human fallen nature into the fantastic.
When we, therefore, notice the mundane, the broken, and the fallen… we can believe that these are not obstacles to God. But raw materials for wonder.
Maybe you do not like Burns’ lifestyle or his poetry. If not, I understand. But find someone from yesteryear to read, study, and appreciate. In such are the soil of faith.
Take the faith God grants us.