Links for the Weekend (2022-10-14)

Each Friday, I’ll post links to 3–5 resources from around the web you may want to check out.

A Manifesto for Times of Suffering

You may remember that Tim Challies lost his college-aged son tragically within the last couple years. As he was coming to grips with his loss, he wrote a manifesto for his suffering to which he could return for strength and a reminder of his calling and commitment.

I will receive this trial as a responsibility to steward, not a punishment to endure. I will look for God’s smile in it rather than his frown, listen for his words of blessing rather than his voice of rebuke. This sorrow will not make me angry or bitter, nor cause me to act out in rebellion or indignation. Rather, it will make me kinder and gentler, more patient and loving, more compassionate and sympathetic. It will loose my heart from the things of earth and fix it on the things of heaven. The loss of my son will make me more like God’s Son, my sorrow like the Man of Sorrows.

Love Your Unorthodox Neighbor

Why do we find it hard to love people with whom we disagree? What does this say about our definition of love?

This approach to doctrine is attractive because we’ve fallen for the notion that love requires agreement or approval. It’s hard to imagine we might love—deeply love—people with whom our disagreements are fundamental. We assume we must shift the foundations if we’re to love someone, when instead a better understanding of foundational Christian truth shifts us into a posture of love across chasms of difference. 

Bible Q&A: How Can We Trust the Bible When It Contains Inconsistencies?

Here’s a helpful answer to a common question about inconsistencies in the Gospels.

God is the only eyewitness that sees every detail. The rest of us are limited by our point of view. We believe the Bible was written by inspiration of the Holy Spirit: “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17, ESV). If the words of the Bible were breathed out by God, then they are true.

Note: Washington Presbyterian Church and the editors of this blog do not necessarily endorse all content produced by the individuals or groups referenced here.