To insist much on those things that the Scripture insists little on, and to insist very little on those things on which the Scripture insists much, is a very dangerous thing (Religious Affections, p. 438; Yale Edition).

Two vitally important and revealing questions arise out of this statement: (1) What do you insist much on that Scripture insists little on? And, perhaps more importantly, (2) What do you insist little on that Scripture insists much on? And, if you’re wondering about a third, then how about this: In light of #1 or #2, do you find yourself in a dangerous position?!

As many of you know, Katie and I have been wrestling with our housing situation for quite some time now. In the last sixteen months, we’ve moved house three times: down to a rental in Oak Park, back to the house we owned in Wheaton, then to a new place in Wheaton just recently, after we (finally!) sold our house in Wheaton. It’s been an exhausting and, admittedly, at times, very frustrating process. Just recently, in fact, this past Friday, we decided to move ahead with putting an offer on a house back in the Oak Park area, only to receive word a half-hour later from our realtor that the house had just been sold earlier that day!

We’ve prayed all the while for God’s grace to sustain us in the midst of these several transitions; and we’ve prayed repeatedly for the Lord to open up the right opportunity for us. We’ve prayed, you might say, for felicity – for the hand of Providence to orchestrate for us happy circumstances. And we’ve done so unabashedly, knowing there’s nothing wrong with praying this way.

However, I was challenged this morning by reading the following comments by the English Puritan, William Jenkyn. His words were a reminder to me to always seek favor over felicity: the blessing of God over God’s blessings. And should God choose to supply us with the blessings for which we hope, then praise God. But should he not, or at least not in the way we were anticipating, then let the favor of God nonetheless be our chief desire and source of joy.

May these words similiarly encourage and challenge you.

Let nothing please or satisfy you, but the light of God’s countenance and do so receive from God here, as that you may be received to God hereafter. Desire not gifts, but mercies from God; not pebbles but pearls, and always labor for that which God never bestows but in love. Luther, when he had a rich present sent to him, professed with a holy boldness to God that such things should not serve his turn. Always desire the favor of God rather than outward felicity. O desire from God that your portion may not be in this life, but that what you enjoy here may be a pledge of better things hereafter.

In his book, Whistling in the Dark: A Doubter’s Dictionary, Christian writer Frederick Buechner explains how the term “born again” now sounds in the ears of some:

You get the feeling that to [those who use the phrase ‘born again’] it means Super Christians. They are apt to have the relentless cheerfulness of car salesmen. They tend to be a little too friendly a little too soon and the women to wear more make-up than they need. You can’t imagine any of them ever having had a bad moment or a lascivious thought or use a nasty word when the bumped their head getting out of the car. They speak a great deal about “the Lord” as if they have him in their hip pocket and seem to feel that it’s no harder to figure out what he wants them to do in any given situation to look up in Fanny Farmer how to make brownies. The whole shadow side of human existence – the suffering, the doubt, the frustration, the ambiguity – appears as absent from their view of things as litter from the streets of Disneyland. To hear them speak of God, he seems about as elusive and mysterious as a Billy Graham rally at Madison Square Garden, and on their lips the Born Again experience often sounds like something we can all make happen any time we want to, like fudge, if we only follow their recipe (p. 24).

That this is the way being ‘born again’ sounds to some is unfortunate, first of all, because it is a wonderful biblical expression that we find used in several places in the New Testament, not least on the lips of Jesus himself (see John 3:1-10). But, secondly, and more importantly, this is unfortunate because being born again is a profound biblical experience – an experience that not only marks the beginning of the Christian life, but also provides a basis for wonder and worship in our lives. To be born again is the foundation of Christian living, as well as the wellspring of the Christian’s praise, as 1 Peter 1:3 reminds us: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.”