John Piper has a great post celebrating the birthday of G. K. Chesterton (which is tomorrow).
For anyone who has been influenced by Chesterton, and even for those who may have never heard of him, I encourage you to read this post and then immediately pick up his book Orthodoxy. I won’t spend much time talking about how Chesterton has influenced my life, because I completely resonate with what Piper says.
What I would like to add is that whenever I read Chesterton, I feel the sense of mystery that should be felt in the Christian life. Too often, we can become too “academically-minded.” Now, I’m not against academics. I’m a seminary student who loves reading technical books that most of my friends back home who find appalling. However, the sad truth is that many of us (myself included) can become so consumed with understanding the depths of the knowledge of God that it becomes a cold scientific method rather than a pursuit.
I read Chesterton for the first time over 6 years ago, and I’ve never been the same. Any time I needed to be reminded of the beauty and romance of the Christian life, I turn to him – even if he should know better than to make some of the comments about Puritans and Calvinists that he does.
I have been at that place where an academic treatment of the Almighty has made the Magnificent feel mundane. If an unpacking of the biblical truth that describes the splendor of the infinite God cannot make your soul feel anything, your soul may be broken. One of my struggles is that reading, recalling, and reciting words about God stands in stark contrast to actually understanding the fulness of the God who is being described. For example, I can speak of God’s grace, but it is categorically impossible for my mind to grasp the greater portion of the magnificence of God’s grace.
Just a head’s up: my friend, Matt Peery, will be going to Southern Seminary this fall. He is probably the most well read and well rounded theologian to graduate from Calvary Bible College this Spring- for moreso than myself. Our main theology professor would take the two of us and one other guy out to breakfast for interesting discussion every other week. Matt is fascinating to chat with. Anyways, he is a huge Piper/Edwards/Calvin/Augustine fan and kind of freaked out by ultra-conservative fundamentlists. You should hunt him down and have some chats with him.