i'm a butterfly dreaming i'm a person.

i'm reading a tim keller book, and my dad called me and asked me what i was reading, so i told him about it. and then i sent my dad a link to an hour long youtube video. it's tim keller at google, giving a lecture.

the first half is him talking about his book "the reason for God."

i could sit and listen to discussions like this, or take part in them, all day. i love it when my intellect is engaged like that. i love thinking about Him. and hearing debates about Him. and reasoning through tough questions regarding Him.

after he discusses the book, he takes questions from the audience. which is full of atheists and agnostics who want to stump him. it's fun to listen to. he doesn't always have a great answer, but the dialogue is great.

the last question:

this guy walks up and asks what he thinks is a brilliant question. "so...there's another religion you may not have heard of. it's all about me. i'm god. i think you should worship me. why don't you?"

and tim says...

"there's not enough time for me to really address that. so here's the snarky answer: as soon as you give your life for me, and come back to life, i might consider it."

which is the perfect way for the talk to end. after so much discussion, and thought, and reasoning...

and after i read a lot of books about theology...

i am faced with the person of Christ. not just logic. not just reason. not just a theory, or a moral way of life, or an intellectually stimulating debate. a person. and more than i love learning about Him, or thinking about Him, i love the moments when i'm really able to remember how mesmerizing He is. because of the brokenness of this world, and the problems i deal with daily, those moments don't come as often as they should. but when they do...

i'm ok. everything is ok.

side note:

i used to grieve over the fact that i would never be able to go hear c.s. lewis speak. he is my favorite author. he's also dead. i've spent many moments just wishing i had lived at the same time as c.s. lewis. i don't even know what i would do if i was ever around him. giggle uncontrollably? (uhhh, apparently my obsession with old or dead men continues...) anyway. while i was watching this video, i realized...tim keller is very similar to him. he lacks british flair, but he's pretty good. and i've already gotten to hear him speak once. i'm just saying. it's the next best thing.