don carson on matthew 11.
i spoke to people afterwards, and it seems the audience was polarised: those who were tired and didn't appreciate the tangle, and those who were absolutely blown away by it.
anthea and i fell into the second category. :)

IDENTITY

our world is one in which a huge amount of who we are is tied up in what we do. this is a truth which resoundingly crashed down around me when a few years ago i stopped being able to do the things which i'd tied my identity to. i'd come to the realisation that the only sure foundation in which i could base my identity, that wouldn't fade, that wouldn't screw up, that wouldn't let me down wasn't my abilities and it certainly wasn't my own strength.

it was in Jesus.

God gave me that revelation pretty soon into the whole thing. and i held onto it like nothing else.
but i didn't actually seek out to understand what it MEANS to have your identity in Christ. it was a mantra i just didn't sound out the depths of.

this was an intricately woven sermon, that at times, you simply didn't know where on earth he was going with it. i didn't write everything down, because i was just so captivated. but i'll try to make sense of what i did jot down...

the pivot was on verse 11: I tell you the truth: Among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.

those 'in the kingdom of heaven' translates to those who are found in Jesus. ie, Christians. even the least, most doubtful, most inconsistent christian with the least understanding of God IS GREATER than john the freakin' baptist.
what gives?

we're on a different axis.

1. Portrait of a Discouraged Baptist
2. Portrait of a Defended Baptist
3. Portrait of an Eclipsed Baptist

more to come... i need sleep.