Don't Lose Sight (learning from Richard Baxter)
The Christian life is to be one oriented to the future. According to Colossians, our faith in God and love for each other flow from the hope we have of heaven, but as we heard on Sunday it’s easy to lose sight of this coming Kingdom and when this happens doubts, cynicism and disappointments can flood our hearts.
The Puritan pastor Richard Baxter knew these dangers well, and so, In 1646 set about meditating on heaven, in order “to sweeten both the rest of my life and my death.” Not only was his life transformed by this heavenly meditation, but the book that grew out of the notes he made during this time – The Saints’ Everlasting Rest – went on to become a devotional classic, one of the most read books of its time.
Lewis quoted from the book on Sunday. It’s a beautiful read, but like all puritan books, it’s not easy. This primer by Matt Searles may help however. It’s a short essay, distilling the main teaching of this book – and will not only introduce us to Baxter, but also help us focus more on the new heavens and earth, and so to enjoy greater fellowship with God, greater pleasure and contentment in this life, and great hope and comfort for the future. Through this paper may we all “set our hearts on things above” and look forward to “the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God.” (Col 3:1; Heb 11:10).
You can download the full paper as a PDF here.
The Puritan pastor Richard Baxter knew these dangers well, and so, In 1646 set about meditating on heaven, in order “to sweeten both the rest of my life and my death.” Not only was his life transformed by this heavenly meditation, but the book that grew out of the notes he made during this time – The Saints’ Everlasting Rest – went on to become a devotional classic, one of the most read books of its time.
Lewis quoted from the book on Sunday. It’s a beautiful read, but like all puritan books, it’s not easy. This primer by Matt Searles may help however. It’s a short essay, distilling the main teaching of this book – and will not only introduce us to Baxter, but also help us focus more on the new heavens and earth, and so to enjoy greater fellowship with God, greater pleasure and contentment in this life, and great hope and comfort for the future. Through this paper may we all “set our hearts on things above” and look forward to “the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God.” (Col 3:1; Heb 11:10).
You can download the full paper as a PDF here.
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