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Ribbons and Bows

On the way to work this morning, I was listening to my copy of Mr. Buechner's Dream by Daniel Amos, when the song "Ribbons and Bows" came on. It has something to say to those who are actively engaged in apologetics -- especially those of us blogging:

Love is a question mark
Life's in a shadow box
God hides himself sometimes
Inside a paradox

And there may not ever be
Anything new here to say
But I'm fond of finding words
That say it in a different way

Chorus:
Does everybody want it nicely
Lined up in little neat rows?
Does anybody know precisely
Just where the wild wind blows?
I can hand it to you brightly
Wrapped up in ribbons and bows

In a sense, this is exactly what those of us who engage in the art of trying to present God in a logical way do on a regular basis. There is much about God that is hidden. We cannot fully grasp God and his ways, but we attempt to make sense of His truth based upon what He has chosen to reveal to us within the limits of our human reason. We are trying to wrap up the Gospel in "ribbons and bows", but we don't know precisely which way "the wild wind blows". Thus, a lot of apologetics is taking the same truths that have been known for centuries and presenting them to the world but in a different way.

Do we understand every little aspect of God? Of course not. God is infinite while we are finite. God is otherwise while we are worldly. God very nature is different than ours. Yet God has given us enough evidence of the truth of His being that the Bible calls those who reject it foolish. And it is this evidence that we seek to present to the world in new and different ways in hopes that we will reach everyone for Christ.

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