Give Me Understanding That I May Live
Mark Talbot's Give Me Understanding That I May Live, Volume 2 is part of the Suffering and Christian Life Series. Using the stories of Naomi, Job, Jeremiah, and the Psalmists, When The Stars Disappear, Volume 1, attempts to inspire hope when facing suffering. Through their sufferings, we see God's faithfulness and how He has proven Himself time and time again to be faithful. Talbot's Give Me Understanding That I May Live how the Christian story explains, "Why there is any suffering, why there is so much of it, and what will finally, gloriously, be true for those who confess with their mouths that Jesus is Lord and believe in their hearts that God raised him from the dead." As part of his second book, Mark Talbot will give a wonderful overview of the "The full Christian story...four parts: creation, rebellion, redemption, and consummation." Mark says, "My first chapter considers creation, emphasizing the world's perfection as God created it. Chapter 2 considers rebellion, telling how suffering entered the world. Chapter 3 explains what suffering is and how it affects us. And then chapter 4 begins considering redemption and consummation, the story's third and fourth parts."
There was no sin, suffering, or death in the beginning. All of this came to an end when Satan tempted Eve to eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. When Eve saw the forbidden tree, she succumbed to Satan's temptation and lies. She was weak in the flesh. Seeing the forbidden fruit, she longed to taste it. Satan cleverly convinced Eve that she would become wise. If only Eve hadn't believed Satan's lie that she would be wise. Though sin and suffering entered the world through the Fall, we must never forget that we are created in God's image. Genesis 1:27 says: "So God created man in his own image; male and female he created them."
In the wake of rebellion, suffering followed. In Gen 2:16b-17 God commanded Adam; "You may freely eat of every tree of the garden; 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall die.”
It was Adam's responsibility to keep this command. They were given freedom over their decisions because God held them responsible for their actions. Gerhard von Rad said of Adam and Eve's loss of unity, "Something like a rift that [could] be traced to the depths of their being [,]...a grievous disruption" that now "governs the whole being of [each of us] from the lowest level of [our] corporeality." Talbot states, "It is only as suffering strikes us at a deeper, more fundamental level that mere thinking and daily living that we realize how desperate our condition is." Our suffering and sorrow are often used by God to draw us to Himself. However, God knew humanity would choose sin. It was God's plan from the beginning of time.
Suffering. God cannot be blamed for our suffering. Adam and Eve's disobedience and sin brought suffering into the world. Because of mankind's sin, God subjected all of creation to hardship, suffering, sin, corruption, and chaos.
What exactly is that plan? It is through His Son, Jesus Christ, that redemption is possible. The fourth-century bishop Athanasius put it, "that corruption and death were gaining an ever firmer hold on human beings and thus that we, who were" 'created in God's image and in [our] possession of reason reflected the very Word Himself, [were] disappearing.' "So if God's creative work was not to be lost, that Word needed to become flesh." Romans 5:8 says, "But God shows his love for us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us." C.S. Lewis in an essay he wrote entitled "The Grand Miracle" says, "God really has dived down into the bottom of creation, and has come up bringing the whole redeemed nature on His shoulders." Plot turn.
Consummation is the culmination of the Christian story. We will no longer need faith and hope to guide us when Christ returns. In eternity, believers in Jesus Christ will gaze upon His face. And as Romans 8:20-21 states, "For the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will but by the will of him who subjected it in hope; 21 because the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and obtain the glorious liberty of the children of God."
In the meantime, there will be suffering. Sin makes our communion with God imperfect and incomplete. I Corinthians 13:12 says, "For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall understand fully, even as I have been fully understood." When we walk through this life, it is imperative that we have faith in God's plan and find our hope in Him.
An Epilogue and Reader's Guide conclude the book. This book's Reader's Guide will assist you in getting the most from it. Talbot explains why it is necessary to read the book more than once. Among the topics he discusses are footnotes, quoted Scripture passages, poetry, and endnotes. In addition, there is a 61-page section entitled Notes at the end of the book. In the book's endnotes, the author provides chapter-by-chapter explanations. A Scripture Index is also included at the end of the book.
Give Me Understanding That I May Live is a remarkable book. My life has been enriched and blessed by this book. As soon as the next volume is published, I will be reading it.
Crossway.org
Disclaimer: I received this book in exchange for my honest thought.
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