Regional Synod of Canada - Reformed Church in America

Pioneer Christian Monthly

Date - Feb/64

Contributor - H. Van Essen

Title - Do You Know What You Are Talking About?

Topic - Youth

One of the standard expressions these days is "the general idea". As long as you have the general idea, who cares about the specific? Many of us drive machines, we do not understand. We may heatedly argue the question which make is the best, yet very few of us can get down to the specifics. It usually hinges on generalities. We know this and sometimes it is overstated in a story, for instance of the lady who, driving a VW., stopped to help a stranded motorist. Upon hearing that his motor had broken down, she sweetly informed him that she had a spare in the trunk. She had a very general idea about a motor being needed for a car, and that was the extent of her knowledge.

One of the things that surprises you when you talk with strangers you happen to meet (who sometimes are church people) is that often they have gotten "the general idea of religion". But like the lady in the V.W. they don't know much, if anything, about the motor, nor where it is supposed to be. They talk about God but they don't speak of Him. They talk about the good God, without knowing Him.

The Heidelberg Catechism asks "What is true faith?" Ans.: "It is not only a certain knowledge by which I accept as true all that God has revealed to us in his Word . ." Question 21. So a certain knowledge is necessary (John 17 : 3)! And this is understandable. For how can you trust a person you do not know anything about? We recommend a certain garage Why can we do it? Because experience has taught us that those persons working there can be trusted. We have come to know them as trustworthy in their work. How are you able to trust God, how are you able to hand over your life more and more to Him to have it renewed, cleansed, restored? Only when you have come to know Him."

John, the disciple writes: "Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in his name.,, (John 20 : 30, 31). The more you learn to know your Lord, how He lived, how He died, how He rose, the more you will learn to know about yourselves. For if this all was necessary to truly commune with your Creator and God, your condition must have been very bad. You may have had a general idea, but once you look at- the details . . . The more you read Scripture, the more you ponder your total attitude in and to life; compare for instance "for me to live is Christ, to die is gain" (Phil. I : 21).

One of the few items that will keep us from panicking in our life of faith, when the going gets rough, is knowledge, knowledge of our Lord and Saviour and his words. For through the bleakness of the seemingly senseless existence irresistibly come then the promises of the Lord, "I will be near thee in time of trouble" (Ps. 91) "though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow" etc. etc.

Too often the Christian lives in a spiritual dessert, is downcast, because he does not know the promises of God, nay, he does not know God as his Father. He suffers, because he never bothered to get more than just the general idea.

Let's all make sure that in our Bible discussions in Youth Fellowships we get beyond the general idea. Make sure that your talking does not silence the Word. Only then will we be able to keep moving, and maybe help a stranded traveler along the way.

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