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If you’re reading this, you’re either old enough to remember the world without internet, or you could never imagine such an existence. The generations alive today straddle this significant threshold; never before has there been such a rapid increase in information. Whatever our apocalyptic convictions, Daniel knew more than a millennia ago such a distinctive would mark the final epoch of what Paul called this “present evil age:”[1] “many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase.”[2] And in this particular era, “the people who know their God,” the maskilim, “will be strong and do great exploits.”[3] The maskilim are wise, strategic in their ambitions. In an era like ours, with so much information accessible and so many voices trumpeting whatever it is they’re saying—indeed, this is the necessary downside to having all our new technologies and gadgets available to us—it is difficult to cut through the white static. Simply contributing to the clamor helps no one. This predicament of sorts led Switchfoot to humbly—yet responsibly—urge their listeners: “If we’re adding to the noise, turn off this song.”[4]
So we have to ask ourselves (and each other)—often—what we interrupt the information intake with. How do we insert ourselves into the deluge, or apprehend audiences and redirect them to our own content and platforms? What are we saying that could be so worthwhile? Rather, reckoning with the hour we find ourselves in, what should we say? Is there anything that’s not been said before? If not, is there anything neglected that needs prioritizing?
With such an emphasis on directives to individuals to “speak [their] truth[s],” we ourselves must walk with tempered sobriety.[5] There is one Truth, and it’s the only one that can actually help anybody.[6] What was once an exclusionary distinctive of the Gospel—“I am the Truth, the Way, the Life, and no one gets to Dad without Me”[7]—is now a necessary line in the sand. If you want to be a messenger of Truth (and what else would you want to be?), you cannot go the way of the zeitgeist. You cannot prioritize whatever you would call your “truth.” You have a story, to be sure; you may well have a testimony. But you do not have a truth. Something so mighty, so potent, cannot reasonably be so subjective. Consider this: if you walked the streets of London one day, and some passerby declared you their Sovereign, their perception or public declaration would do nothing to dethrone Queen Elizabeth II. She is the Queen. She wears the crown. Britain has only one, and you’re not it (unless her Majesty is reading this, in which case…hello). Similarly, the only truth is the Truth. Full stop.
The Christological Confrontation that is the preeminence and exaltation of Jesus[8] carries an rapidly pertinent urgency; with the world at large waking up every morning to geopolitical collisions (many escalating into war), ethnic tensions and racial conflicts, a seemingly never-ending pandemic, and global division at what is literally an unprecedented degree, we must reckon with whether or not there is time or reason to prioritize any other name, any other message if we are ever even granted the luxury and dignity of a human attention span. Time, reason, nor attention should never be squandered. In light of this, we really need to take into consideration the perilously immeasurable weight of millstones (more on this in a minute).
Nearly every artist and creative is driven by a sincere, legitimate desire to make people “feel something.” When pursued in immaturity, we produce the kind of adolescent drivel saturating Top 40 radio at any given moment, or somehow tell forgettable stories. If we have any ambition to shift the way people see themselves and their lives—and we should—we must say something unforgettable. Sounds easy enough, yeah? But you cannot take to someone that which you do now know yourself. This is partially why David’s commitment to pursue and prioritize “the beauty of the Lord…all the days of [his] life”[9] was so important, and remains for us to emulate. He found and focused on eternal beauty (and, it’s worth mentioning, ignited a thirty-year worship movement in his generation, the first of its kind in human history).[10] And then he made this pursuit available to the artists around him, so they could do the same. David’s tabernacle set hundreds of singers and musicians in front of and around the manifest presence of the LORD for decades, and those visceral experiences produced what we know as The Psalms. Much like the “psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs” we are instructed to sing and create,[11] the Biblical psalms vary as songs about Jesus, to Jesus, or for Jesus. Some are meant to arrest human ears in order to draw human hearts into eternity. Consider this opening verse to one such psalm:
“Hear this, all you peoples;
Listen, all who inhabit the world,
Both low and high,
Rich and poor together.
My mouth speaks wisdom;
My heart’s meditation brings understanding.
I turn my ear to a proverb;
I explain my riddle with a lyre.”[12]
Remember: you cannot take to someone that which you do not know. If this writer, one of the sons of Korah (which is itself its own redemption),[13] could truly “speak wisdom” in a way that he could “bring understanding,” it’s because “in all [his] getting, [he got] wisdom.”[14] He feared the Lord, sought the Lord, and found the One so eager to be found.[15] If the mouth reveals the heart through overflow,[16] we know already this abstract artist had invested measurable time and energy into meditating on the Truth of the Holy One—and then he leveraged his craft to offer it to the rest of us. Picture a deep-sea diver emerging from the darkened depths with jewels previously not beheld, breaking the surface with something gorgeous found as he investigated the mysterious water. Picture Moses heading into the Presence so terrifying, a nation waited behind him for word.[17]
Such a pursuit is, in simple terms, the path to maturity. To “restore” the Image-bearing mirrors shattered in “the mighty disaster theologians call ‘the Fall’”[18] is the Father’s deep and abiding commitment to conform us into the Image of His beautiful Son.[19] In this process, we grow—and we grow up. He will bring His entire global Body into maturity before His return,[20] and it is this process that produces the sky-splitting “Maranatha!” cry shared by the Spirit and the Bride before the Son of Man comes on the clouds in glory.[21]
If anything is neglected, it is this hope. If anything must be prioritized, it is this message. As Spurgeon said, “If Christ be anything, He must be everything.” You could continue swimming in shallow depths, sure. But should you? Consider these words from the author of Hebrews:
For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God; and you have come to need milk and not solid food. For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.
Therefore, leaving the discussion of the elementary principles of Christ, let us go on to [maturity], not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, of the doctrine of baptisms, of laying on of hands, of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment. And this we will do if God permits.[22]
We never “graduate” from the simple truths of the good news of Jesus and His Kingdom, but we must grow up. We must mature. And we must shepherd others into mature allegiance to and affection for Jesus, like faithful sheepdogs faithfully stewarding the flock to which we have been assigned. It might be a large flock. It might be a small flock. It might be a global flock. The size of the flock doesn’t matter; the maturity of the flock as obedient disciples (who make obedient disciples) matters. This is all we’ll be held account to, and herein lies the terrifying warning:
At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”
Then Jesus called a little child to Him, set him in the midst of them, and said, “Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Whoever receives one little child like this in My name receives Me.
“But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were drowned in the depth of the sea. Woe to the world because of offenses! For offenses must come, but woe to that man by whom the offense comes![23]
“Offenses”—deviations from the Truth that lead to disobedience and idolatrous allegiances—“must come.” But do not be the origin or initiator. We know a few things about the Judgment: every idle word will be reckoned with.[24] Everyone—everyone—will be humbled.[25] Only Jesus will be left standing.[26] Everything we did, built, and pursued since we were exiled from Eden will be subjected to eternity’s burning kiln, and all chaff—no matter how highly we appreciated it in this age—will be devoured.[27] It will not survive to enter eternity. Many believers will walk across the threshold between this age and the Restoration with empty pockets. Many others will not cross that threshold at all—including several who expected to get ushered in.[28] That should make us tremble. And it should narrow our focus to labor well now so as to reap results that’ll last. Don’t work so hard on finite things that you have nothing to show for your seventy years when you have to give account for them. And do not leverage your life or steward your skills such that you lead anyone listening to you away from the only Truth that sets all men free.[29]
Stephanie Quick (@quicklikesand) is a writer/producer serving with FAI. She lives in the Golan Heights and cohosts The Better Beautiful podcast with Jeff Henderson. Browse her free music, films, and books in the FAI App and at stephaniequick.org.
[1] Galatians 1:4
[2] Daniel 12:4
[3] Daniel 11:32
[4] Jonathan Mark Foreman, Timothy David Foreman. “Adding to the Noise,” The Beautiful Letdown (2003). Columbia/Sony BMG. Performed by Switchfoot.
[5] Romans 12:3; 1 Thessalonians 5:6-8; Titus 2:12; 1 Peter 1:13; 5:8
[6] John 8:32; 14:6; Galatians 5:1
[7] A paraphrase of John 14:6 (emphasis added)
[8] Philippians 2:9-11; Colossians 1:15-18
[9] Psalm 27:4
[10] See “A Brief History of 24/7 Prayer” from IHOPKC here: https://www.ihopkc.org/prayerroom/history/
[11] Ephesians 5:19; Colossians 3:16
[12] Psalm 49:1-4, CSB (emphasis added)
[13] See Numbers 16
[14] Proverbs 4:7
[15] Isaiah 65:1; Jeremiah 29:13; Matthew 7:7-8; Romans 10:20
[16] Matthew 12:34; Luke 6:45
[17] Exodus 20:18-21
[18] “Deep calleth unto deep, and though polluted and landlocked by the mighty disaster theologians call the Fall, the soul senses its origin and longs to return to its Source.” A.W. Tozer, The Knowledge of the Holy
[19] Romans 8:29
[20] Ephesians 4:15-16
[21] Daniel 7:13-14; Matthew 24:30; Mark 13:26; Revelation 11:15; 19:7; 22:17
[22] Hebrews 5:12-6:3, NKJV (emphasis added)
[23] Matthew 18:1-7, NKJV (emphasis added)
[24] Matthew 12:36
[25] Romans 2:16
[26] Isaiah 2:12-18; Philippians 2:9-11
[27] 1 Corinthians 3:9-15
[28] Matthew 7:21-23
[29] Galatians 5:1
