I borrowed King’s Cross from the library, but I like it so much I’m going to buy a copy.
Tim Keller is best known for his book Reasons For God, which I love. That book has strengthened my faith and it’s a book that I’ve shared with unbelievers. King’s Cross is another faith building book. It’s basically an exposition of the book of Mark in the Bible, and Keller’s insights into the life of Jesus gave me a deeper understanding of Mark (the book). I’ve never heard Keller speak in person, but now I can understand why he can connect with and speak to the hearts of his congregation in Manhattan.
My favorite chapter is Chapter 11, “The Trap”. It’s about the Rich Young Ruler, a very familiar account. Here is a powerful insight:
“So Jesus is saying to the man in this passage, ‘You have put your faith and trust in your wealth and accomplishments. But the effort is alienating you from God. Right now God is your boss; but God is not your Savior, and here’s how you can see it: I want you to imagine life without money. I want you to imagine all of it gone. No inheritance, no inventory, no servants, no mansions – all of that is gone. All you have is me. Can you live like that?'”
“It’s one thing to have God as a boss, an example, a mentor; but if you want God to be your Savior, you have to replace what you’re already looking to as a savior. Everybody’s got something…If you want to be a Christian, of course you’ll repent of your sins. But after you’ve repented of your sins you’ll have to repent of how you have used the good things in your life to fill the place where God should be…This young man’s problem is not his financial worth; it’s his moral worth. It’s his sense that he doesn’t need the grace of God…”
As I get older, my “savior” or in other words, idol, is modern medicine. Sure I pray when I’m sick, but I am more comforted by a good report from the doctor than I am from trusting God. As good as it is to have good health care available, I am seeing that it’s become a sort of “savior” for us the baby boomer generation. We find specialist after specialist, surgery and pills, and put our “hope” in the procedure that will solve our problem.
Can we live as Paul says, “Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”?