Category Archives: faith

A tribute to Christ

I’ve been reading Donald Macleod’s book Behold Your God (Fearn: Christian Focus Publications, 1990) with profit. Today, in chapter 4, in the midst of a discussion of the demonstration of the power of God in its primary manifestation in creation he says,

“We do not believe that God spoke the world into being because we have empirically verified that theory. We believe it on the testimony of God. In His Word He assures us that it is so. To put it otherwise: belief in creation by the word of God is part of the tribute we owe to Christ. It was what He believed: and our every thought is captive to the obedience of Christ.” (pp. 47-48)

Here is one more way of taking every thought captive. It had not occurred to me before to look at it in this way, and I’m grateful to Macleod for this insight. To take it a step further, of course Christ believed it, it was he who made the universe. Not to believe in what he had done would be a most peculiar way to think.

This is not some lame way of escaping from the plain facts of reality and settling for a weak fantasy. Macleod makes it clear: “Faith does not here indicate a different degree of certainty, as if knowledge meant strong conviction and faith something more hesitant.” (p. 47) Such faith is vigorous, based as it is on the strength of a different testimony to that of science. Indeed, the assertion of faith that God created is not open to science, it is beyond its remit. When scientists deny it in the name of science they have moved out of their discipline into the realm of religion, of scientism. We have the testimony of God the Creator, of Jesus the Creator, to creation. The strength of opposition to Jesus’ own self-testimony is no less strong today than it was when he was on earth (e.g. John 5:30-47). But what stronger testimony can there be to creation than the word of the Creator?

This reflection has reminded me of several prints that hang in various places in our home. They are by Steven Townsend, and each one is not only signed by the artist, but he has annotated his signature either with the initials “JTC” or the full phrase “Jesus the Creator”. You can enjoy the beauty of the creation of Jesus the Creator a little more by visiting The Townsend Gallery and viewing some of Steven’s most recent works (no personal connection, and no commission!). As the site says, the Web doesn’t do justice to the realism of the paintings, but even it’s inadequacy is mindblowing. Much more so the real thing.

A summer scene along the River Lagan, Belfast

A summer scene along the River Lagan, Belfast