R.C. Sproul's Blog, page 545

$5 Friday: Love, Marriage, & The Trinity

It's Friday, so that means it's time for another $5 Friday sale. This week you'll find resources on love, marriage, the Trinity, joy, worship, and John's Gospel.

Sale runs from 8 a.m. Friday through 8 a.m. Saturday EST.

View today's $5 Friday sale items.

Lit! A Christian Guide to Reading Books

I ended by liking Lit! A Christian Guide to Reading Books. I came to the conclusion, well before the final chapters, that this book has something helpful in it for all kinds of people. But I must admit that I was baffled by the opening pages. The first six paragraphs of the introduction describe non-readers and give a variety of reasons why "you" (the reader of Lit!) don't like to read, concluding with the statement: "Whatever. We all have our own reasons for why we don't read." Why would a book about reading be addressed to non-readers? I wondered. Why would non-readers even be reading this introduction? My confusion only deepened when I read the opening sentence of the very next paragraph: "Lit! A Christian Guide to Reading Books is for any Christian who wants to read books, and read them well." Weren't we just talking to people who don't want to read books? I'm still confused by those opening paragraphs. Fortunately for me, I blew all that off and kept reading.

As a teacher of Bible, history, and literature, I want people to read! I've often said that God could have chosen to communicate in some other way, but he chose to communicate through a book. For that reason, reading is not an option. Tony Reinke made this point with great emphasis when he described God giving Moses the tablets of stone containing the ten commandments "written with the finger of God."

To this day, [writes Reinke] those words can be found in any major bookstore. Many thousands of books would later be devoted to talking about God—proving God, doubting God, explaining God. But these stone tablets held God's words. The day God ran his fingertip over the stone tablets was the day that he forever shaped the world of book publishing.

The first six chapters of Lit! comprise "Part 1: A Theology of Books and Reading." This section is full of reasons for all kinds of reading—Scripture, Christian and non-Christian works, both fiction and non-fiction. While most Christians won't argue with the value of reading the Bible, other books, especially those written by non-Christians, are a much harder sell. Students in my literature class turn in essays—coached by their Christian parents, I believe—on why reading certain classical authors is a waste of time, especially if their writing is on the "dark" side. I don't believe non-readers will choose to read this section of Reinke's material; however, I think parents, teachers, mentors, and pastors can find in it a warehouse of material that will help them convince their children, students, disciples and congregations why they should read other books as well as the Bible, and how to go about it in a way that strengthens them spiritually and makes them more useful in reaching out to a needy world.

In these chapters, Reinke provides seven worldview questions and a cluster of "touchstone propositions" by which to evaluate the worldview of any piece of literature. He gives us seven benefits of reading non-Christian literature. (As one example, "darker" fiction exposes the human heart. Sure, every Christian knows the human heart is sinful and needy. But when we read a well-crafted story or play, we see through the eyes of the non-Christian writer the despair of life lived daily without Christ. Such a story can awaken in us a horror at sin and a compassion for the lost that the bare statement "The human heart is sinful" cannot.) Part 1 also calls us to cultivate our imaginations, of great use in understanding God's promises of future reality. "Revelation," writes Reinke (and he means the book of that title in the Bible), "invites us to see ultimate reality through our imaginations, in breathtaking, earth-scorching, mind-stretching, sin-defeating, dragon-slaying, Christ-centered, God-glorifying images that change the way we think, act, and speak."

Part 2 delivers loads of what it promises: "Some Practical Advice on Book Reading." I had two personal favorite chapters in this section. The first was "Literature Is Life" on the benefits of reading fiction. Good fiction writes about common human experience, Reinke reminds us. We participate more fully in humanity when we read of circumstances that are different from our own, and how other people react to them. We become better able to sympathize with and reach out to people who don't move in our everyday circles. Well-written fiction provides us with beauty, beauty which we are right to enjoy since it is God who has created it and who has made us able to enjoy it as he enjoys it. Especially helpful were Reinke's points on the necessity of realism in fiction. Quoting Christian novelist Larry Wolwode, Reinke writes, "If sin isn't mentioned or depicted, there's no need for redemption."

My other favorite chapter in Part 2, "Driven to Distraction," describes the threat of the internet for readers. Quoting from several sources, Reinke describes the kind of habits our minds develop through frequent use of the internet. As we skim the constant streams of informational tidbits flashing by us on our screens, we train ourselves to think in short bursts. Since only a click away are dictionary definitions or the opinions of our friends, we don't take the time to think about a question that comes up; we simply click to see what someone else might think about it. Too much internet, too little book time retrains our minds—maybe even rewires them—in such a way that they become incapable of long periods of sustained concentration.

Seven other highly practical chapters round out this second part of Lit! Reinke gives pointers on: choosing what to read out of the millions of books that exist; finding time to read; reading with deliberate goals in mind; marking books in a way that helps the reader absorb their content; raising children to be readers (if you're a parent) and "raising" Christian non-reading adults to be readers (if you're a pastor or a discipler). He discusses how reading can help build the Christian community, and he gives the five marks of a healthy book reader. Part 2 has something of great usefulness for almost anyone!

An added bonus of Lit! is the list the reader can make from it of additional books and authors—on a number of subjects—to learn from later. Both in the text itself and in added footnotes, Lit! quotes from a host of helpful sources. Wherever you are on the spectrum of reading ability, wherever you are on the spectrum of reading interest, you can find something (and probably more than one something) to enrich you as a Christian and as a human being in the pages of Lit! Even if reading's not an issue for you—you read often, and you read well—there's plenty here to help you enrich the reading lives of others. You owe it to your Christian friends and family to read this book and pass on what you've read.

Starr Meade teaches high school history and literature classes for home school students and is the author of several books for children and families.

The Heart of Reformation Bible College [VIDEO]

Christians are to have their hearts in the city of God as they live out their lives in the city of man. Too often, Christians lack the strength to resist being molded by the influence of the city of man. Over and against this, Reformation Bible College (RBC) stands as a movement of believers committed to training young minds in the historic Christian faith. In this latest video, hear from our faculty and from our students what the heart of Reformation Bible College is—standing on the authority of Scripture alone to inform all matters of life.

RBC emphasizes an intimate learning environment by maintaining small class sizes and a low student-to-faculty ratio. Therefore, space is limited. The regular application deadline for this fall is March 15, and the late application deadline is May 1. If you are interested in learning more visit ReformationBibleCollege.org. You can call 888-RBC-1517 to speak with one of our admissions counselors or email admissions@ligonier.org.

Love's Shroud

If, as Jonathan Edwards proposed, heaven is "a world of love," then love is pure, intense, and uncommon. But even here in this world, God wants us to display something of His heavenly love: "Above all, keep loving one another earnestly" (1 Peter 4:8). The Apostle Peter explains here why heavenly love matters, what heavenly love means, and how heavenly love behaves.

First, Peter explains why heavenly love matters. Peter begins with the phrase "above all." There is nothing more important than our earnest love for one another. There may be other things equally important, but there are none more important.

Yes, there is wrath in God; but the Bible never says, "God is wrath." —@RayOrtlund

Why? Why does this unusual love matter so much? Because "God is love" (1 John 4:8). Yes, there is wrath in God; but the Bible never says, "God is wrath." We have to provoke Him to wrath, but we do not have to provoke Him to love. Love for the undeserving flows from who God is. This is why our earnest love for one another is so important. It is how we display the beauty of God on earth. Let's never allow petty selfishness in our churches and our homes to mar the beauty of heavenly love for one another. It is the sum of all truly Christian living: it is "above all."

Continue reading Love's Shroud, Ray Ortlund's contribution to the February issue of Tabletalk.

Introductions: Exodus

Who wrote it? When was it written and why?

These are some of the important questions to answer as you explore any book of the Bible. To aid you in your study of God's Word we have been adapting and posting some of the detailed book introductions found in The Reformation Study Bible. Today, we continue a series through the Pentateuch. 

Please allow The Reformation Study Bible to introduce you to...

The Book of Exodus

Author | Date & Occasion | Interpretive Difficulties | Characteristics & Themes

Author

Jesus calls Exodus "the book of Moses"

In the New Testament Jesus calls Exodus "the book of Moses" (Mark 12:26; cf. 7:10), and there are no compelling reasons to deny the Mosaic authorship of the book.

The title of the book, "Exodus," is derived from the Greek word exodos (Luke 9:31), which means "exit" or "departure." The book takes its name from the central event of Israel's departure from Egypt, recorded in the book's first fifteen chapters.

Date and Occasion

Given Moses' authorship of Exodus, we should date the book after the exodus event (c. 1450–1440 B.C.) and before his death about 1406 B.C. According to the dating below, Moses' birth would have just fallen within the reign of Thutmose I. Hatshepsut, the widowed queen of Thutmose II, assumed male titles and even a beard as she reigned from 1504–1483 B.C. Perhaps she was the Pharaoh upon whose death Moses returned to Egypt from Midian.

Exodus carries forward the story of God's fulfillment of His promise to Abraham to bless him and make of him a great nation (Gen. 12:2). It begins by referring to the descent of Israel into Egypt (Exo. 1:1–7); this connects through Gen. 46:8–27 with the Genesis narratives. The book concludes with Israel at Sinai where the tabernacle is completed. The events covered in the book may be placed against their historical background as follows.

Exodus carries forward the story of God’s fulfillment of His promise to Abraham to bless him and make of him a great nation

Joseph's rise to power (Exo. 1:5) is best set in the favorable conditions for Jacob's family created by the rule over Egypt of the Semitic Hyksos (c. 1700–1550 B.C.). The reference at Exo. 1:8 to a new king "who did not know Joseph" likely refers to the expulsion of the Hyksos by the eighteenth dynasty founder Ahmosis I (1570–1546 B.C.). If the Exodus is dated c. 1450–1440 B.C. (Interpretive Difficulties below), the Pharaoh of the oppression was probably Thutmose I (1526–1512 B.C.), while the Pharaoh of the Exodus was Thutmose III (1504–1450 B.C.) or Amenhotep II (1450–1425 B.C.). This dating would allow a possible identification of the incoming Israelites with the Habiru, a group mentioned in the Tell el-Amarna letters (correspondence between Egypt and its Syro- Palestinian vassals during the fourteenth century B.C.). The Habiru were a social or occupational class commonly attested in texts from 2000 B.C. onwards. They were political outcasts in Palestine (Gen. 14:13 note).

The written preservation of the words of God's covenant has central importance for the theology of the Book of Exodus. God not only speaks His words to His assembled people at Sinai, He also gives them His Ten Commandments in writing, "written with the finger of God" on tablets of stone (Exo. 31:18; cf. 32:15, 16; 34:1, 28). The terms of the covenant were further specified by the so-called "Book of the Covenant" (Exo. 20:22–23:19), the words of God written down by Moses, the mediator of God's covenant (Exo. 24:4, 7; 34:27).

The Sinai covenant (Exo. 19:1–20:21; Exodus 24) resembles in both form and content the state treaty form of the second millennium B.C., particularly the Hittite state treaties. These treaties included a preamble (Exo. 20:2), stipulations (Exo. 20:3–17), ratification (Exo. 24:1–11), and blessings and curses. A copy of the treaty was often preserved at the sanctuaries of the parties (e.g., the two tablets of Exo. 31:18). Also, the similarity of the content of the case laws of Exo. 21–23 to ancient Near Eastern codes (particularly the Code of Hammurabi of Babylon, c. 1750 B.C.) has often been noted.

Interpretive Difficulties

The date and route of the Exodus have been subjects of considerable debate. Biblical chronology dates the exodus event at 480 years before the reign of Solomon (1 Kin. 6:1). This would place the event at about 1440 B.C. This early date is consistent with Judg. 11:26, which declares that three hundred years had elapsed since Israel entered Canaan. The c. 1440 B.C. date is also supported by Exo. 12:40, 41, where 430 years is the duration of Israel's stay in Egypt. The Pharaoh of the Exodus would then be Thutmose III or Amenhotep II.

Advocates of a much later date appeal to the name "Raamses" (or "Rameses" Gen. 47:11) as one of the store cities built with Israelite labor (Exo. 1:11). Rameses II (1304–1236 B.C.) is taken to be the Pharaoh of the Exodus, and the approximate date set at 1270 B.C. This is held to be more consistent with the archaeology of cities destroyed in Palestine and with the lack of earlier settlement in Transjordan (the region east of the Jordan River and the Dead Sea). However, more recent discoveries in Transjordan and a new evaluation of the destruction of Jericho have weakened the case for the late date.

The date and route of the Exodus have been subjects of considerable debate. Biblical chronology dates the exodus event at 480 years before the reign of Solomon

The route of the Exodus began at Rameses. Its exact location is the subject of considerable debate, though modern Qantir is the site most favored (Tell el-Daba). From there the Hebrews journeyed south to Succoth (Exo. 13:20). Here, apparently unable to move on, the Hebrews turned northward (Exo. 14:2). Three sites are mentioned, Baalzephon, Migdol, and Pi-hahiroth. Baal-zephon is associated with Tahpanhes, bordering Lake Menzaleh, one of the salt lakes between the Mediterranean and Gulf of Suez. There were three possible routes of Israelite escape. The "way of the land of the Philistines" (Exo. 13:17) connected Egypt with Canaan by the heavily fortified coastal route. A second route, the way of Shur, began near the Wadi Tumilat in the Delta area, crossed to Kadesh-barnea, and branched off to Canaan. The Egyptian boundary wall of Shur may have been a major obstacle to this route. In leading the people south to southern Sinai, the Lord not only brought them to the mountain He had designated to Moses, but distanced them from further contact with the Egyptians. The deliverance through the sea may have been on a southern extension of Lake Menzaleh.

The Sinai peninsula is a triangle of land measuring approximately 150 miles across at the top and 260 miles along the sides. Two arms of the Red Sea, the Gulf of Suez and the Gulf of Aqaba, flank it. The Hebrews proceeded south along the west coast of the Sinai. The bitter waters of Marah (Exo. 15:22–25) are usually identified with Ain Hawarah (some forty-five to fifty miles south of the tip of the Gulf of Suez), but Ain Musa may be the correct location. Elim with its many springs and trees has been identified as Wadi Gharandel, the encampment by the Red Sea (Num. 33:10), about seven miles south of Ain Hawarah. The wilderness of Sin would best be identified with Debbet er-Ramleh, a sandy plain along the edge of the Sinai Plateau. If the traditional location of Mount Sinai as Jebel Musa is correct, Israel would have then turned inland by a series of valleys to Jebel Musa, traveling through the desert of Rephidim, where they fought against the Amalekites (Exo. 17:8–16). Rephidim was the last encampment in the wilderness of Sinai before the sacred mountain. Then they proceeded to Mount Sinai (Exodus 19) where they received the law.

Characteristics and Themes

Several major themes are evident in the Book of Exodus. First, it tells how the Lord liberated Israel from Egypt to fulfill His covenant with the fathers. A second major element of the book is the covenant revelation at Sinai, which specified the terms of relationship between the holy God and His people. The third theme issues from the first two and is their consummation: the reestablishment of God's dwelling with man. Each of these themes involves a triumph of divine grace: God's mighty rescue of His people from slavery in Egypt, His thunderous self-revelation at Sinai, and His gracious condescension to dwell with His erring people in the tabernacle. The unfolding of these themes also reveals the Lord's holiness and grace in His covenant law and in the ceremonial symbolism of Israel's life and worship.

The symbolic substitution of the Passover lamb is fulfilled in Christ, the Lamb of God, our Passover sacrifice

Crucial to the narrative is Moses' role as mediator between God and man. As God's chosen servant, Moses is the mediator of judgment against Egypt, and is the one through whom God delivers Israel. Through Moses God gives His revelation at Sinai. Moses also shepherds the people through the wilderness to the Promised Land. He pleads for the people, and he is the one through whom the Lord provides food and water. But Moses' role in the history of redemption prepares pointedly for Christ, the Mediator of the new covenant (Deut. 18:15). The revelation that Moses receives of God's name "abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness" (Exo. 34:6) justifies the building of the tabernacle, but that description of the Lord points forward to the coming of the true tabernacle, the incarnate Christ, the greater Servant of the Lord (John 1:14, 17; Heb. 3:1–6).

God's law reveals His holy nature and requires holiness of the people among whom God will dwell. The ceremonial regulations for Israel's life and worship (Exodus 25–31; 35–40) mark out the separation of Israel as the people among whom God lives and rules, demonstrating His kingdom before the nations.

In addition to its description of the historical events by which Israel was delivered to become God's people, Exodus also presents a major illustration of God's saving work throughout history. The savior God redeems His chosen people from the powers of evil, judges those powers, and claims His people as His firstborn son, a holy nation of priests among whom He dwells by His Spirit. The pattern of divine victory over enemies, followed by the establishment of the divine dwelling place, is repeated in Christ's first and second advents (e.g., Eph. 2:14–22; Rev. 20:11– 22:5).

The symbolism found in Exodus becomes reality in the new covenant (Jer. 31:31–34; Col. 2:17; Heb. 10:1). The sprinkled blood of animal sacrifice is now replaced by the blood of Christ (Exo. 24:8; Matt. 26:27, 28; Heb. 12:24; 1 Pet. 1:2). The symbolic substitution of the Passover lamb is fulfilled in Christ, the Lamb of God, our Passover sacrifice (John 1:29; 1 Cor. 5:7). His "exodus" at Jerusalem (Luke 9:31) accomplishes the salvation of the true people of God. God's new covenant people are joined to Jesus Christ, in whom the Gentiles become the people of God, members of the commonwealth of Israel and fellow citizens with the Old Testament saints (Exo. 19:5, 6; Eph. 2:11–19). The full meaning of the description of Israel in Exodus may now therefore be applied to the churches of the Gentiles (1 Pet. 2:9, 10).

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Adapted from The Reformation Study Bible, © 2005 Ligonier Ministries.

Do You Sing The Christian Fight Song?

On January 23, 2012, Dr. R.C. Sproul spoke at Reformation Bible College's chapel service on the subject of "The Wrath of God Revealed" from Romans 1:18. At the close of his message, he reminded us of "the Christian fight song," saying:

"It goes back to the fourth century to the Arian controversy when the Arians were denying the Trinity. And part of the way they communicated their heresy was to make up bawdy songs that were insulting, and they stood on one side of the river and sang these insulting songs to the Trinitarians. And so the Christians came up with their own fight song."

The Christian Fight Song

Here is the Christian fight song that the Trinitarians would sing back to the Arians.

Glory be to the Father;
And to the Son;
And to the Holy Ghost.
As it was in the beginning is now and ever shall be, world without end.
The attribute of glory that is the supreme attribute of deity, is to be given to Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

Will you sing the Christian the fight song?

Click here to download an MP3 of Dr. Sproul chanting this Christian fight song.

For Glory and Beauty

The week before Christmas, when I was in third grade, my grandmother took me to downtown Pittsburgh so that I could buy gifts for my family and, for the first time in my life, my girlfriend. I wanted to buy something romantic for her, so I selected a small decorative pin. It looked to me as if it was made of gold, but it really wasn’t. However, I was able to have her initials engraved on the pin, and the lady behind the counter gift-wrapped it for me. It made a nice gift, and when I gave it to my girlfriend, she giggled and swooned over it. That must have been a formative experience for me because, all these years later, I still love to give my then girlfriend-but-now-my-wife jewelry.

It is interesting to me that people of all ages and from all civilizations and cultures are fascinated with jewels and precious metals for no reason other than their beauty. These things are precious to us not because we can eat them or use them as tools, but because they serve as adornments. By their inherent beauty, they enhance human beauty and the work of man’s hands.

Continue reading For Glory and Beauty, R.C. Sproul's contribution to the February issue of Tabletalk.

Introduction — The Unfolding of Biblical Eschatology

At various times in her history, different doctrines have been at the center of the church's attention. In the first few centuries after the death and resurrection of Christ, for example, the church struggled mightily to formulate accurately the biblical teaching concerning the Trinity and the Person of Christ. The fruit of this struggle is found in the writings of numerous church fathers and in the Nicene Creed and the Definition of Chalcedon. Many centuries later, during the Reformation, soteriology and ecclesiology became the central focus of much of the church's attention. Debates surrounding those doctrines continue to this day. Eschatology, on the other hand, while not ignored in earlier centuries, truly moved to the forefront of the church's attention in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. From the emergence of popular dispensationalism in the late nineteenth century to the influential writings of Schweitzer, Dodd, Moltmann and others in the twentieth century, it is clear that eschatology has risen to a place of prominence in biblical, theological, and historical studies.

Defining Eschatology

What do we mean when we speak of "eschatology"? The English word is based on a combination of two Greek words: eschatos ("last") and logos ("word"). Traditionally, eschatology has been defined as the "doctrine of the last things" in relation to both the individual (e.g. death and the intermediate state) and to cosmic history (e.g. the return of Christ, the general resurrection, the final judgment, heaven, and hell).i Because of this definition, most studies of eschatology have limited themselves to a discussion of events that have yet to occur — events at the end of the individual's life or events at the end of history.ii

Eschatology in a broader sense, however, concerns what Scripture teaches about God's purposes in Christ for history. As such, eschatology does include a study of the consummation of God's purposes at the end of history, but it also includes a study of the stages in the unfolding of those purposes.iii If, for example, the first coming of Christ inaugurated "the last days," then a study of biblical eschatology must include a study of Christ's first advent as well as his second. It must also include a study of God's preparation in history for the eschatological first advent of Christ. In other words, eschatology must involve a redemptive-historical study of the entire Bible. We will embark on such a study over the coming weeks.

iii Stephen S. Smalley, John: Evangelist & Interpreter, 2d ed. (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 1998), 265.

Adapted from From Age to Age by Keith Mathison. ISBN 978-0-87552-745-1
Used with permission of P&R Publishing Co. P O Box 817, Phillipsburg N.J. 08865 www.prpbooks.com

From Age to Age is available in the Ligonier store.

Twitter Highlights (2/5/12)

Here are highlights from the various Ligonier Twitter accounts over the past week.

Truly, Jesus is the only hope we have and He is all we need. —Derek Thomas bit.ly/eHYlzL

— Reformation Trust (@RefTrust) January 30, 2012

All the cunning of the devil is exercised in trying to tear us away from the word (Martin Luther).

— Ligonier Academy (@LigonierAcademy) January 31, 2012

Sin has been pardoned at such a price that we cannot henceforth trifle with it (Spurgeon).

— Ligonier Academy (@LigonierAcademy) February 1, 2012

The gospel is not about me. The gospel is about Jesus. —R.C. Sproul

— Ligonier Ministries (@Ligonier) January 31, 2012

Christ did not claim to be the only way because he was arrogant, but because he alone alleviated the human condition of sinfulness (Corduan)

— Tabletalk Magazine (@Tabletalk) January 31, 2012

If left to ourselves...we will not only gravitate toward, but we'll be swept into some form of idolatry. —R.C. Sproul

— Ligonier Ministries (@Ligonier) February 1, 2012

We’re not always as bad as we can be, but that is solely because of God’s restraining grace. —@JohnMacArthur bit.ly/eaos1h

— Reformation Trust (@RefTrust) February 3, 2012

You can also find our various ministries on Facebook:

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Does God really decide, and care who wins a football game?

I began asking this question myself long before Tim Tebow was even born. I was a little boy, deeply committed to the Pittsburgh Steelers. I remember praying that they would beat the Oakland Raiders in an upcoming playoff game. When my prayer ended fear set in- what if there were a little boy just like me, somewhere in Oakland, praying that the Raiders would beat the Steelers? My father comforted me by explaining that no real Christian would ever pray for the Raiders.

The truth is God does decide, and He does care. He not only decides who will win the Super Bowl, He decides who will win the game of hearts I play with my children. He decides, or rather decided, everything. There are no places, let alone no playing fields, where God stays on the sidelines. We need to remember that everything that happens must have a sufficient cause. And we must remember that every sufficient cause eventually traces its way back to God before time. This happens because that happened. That happened because this other thing happened. Eventually this takes us to "God said, 'Let there be light, and there was light.'"

Of course God works in and through secondary means. He gives the gifts. He creates the weather. The one who numbers the hairs on our heads softens the ground where a defensive back slips, and a playoff game ends on an eighty yard touchdown pass. There is no thing, no cause, over which He is not sovereign.

Isn't it, though, somehow beneath His dignity to be concerned with such things? Yes, of course it is. God has only one concern- the manifestation of His glory. And that is how He determines what will happen in a football game, and what will happen in an election, and what will happen in a cancer ward. His goal isn't ultimately to make little boys in Pittsburgh happy, or little boys in Denver happy. His goal, which cannot be thwarted, is to show forth who He is.

Does that mean He plays favorites for the likes of outspoken Christians like Tim Tebow or Drew Brees? Of course. Because God loves those who are His, even as He loves His own Son, God is certain to favor them. That favor, however, isn't a path to winning a football game, but is instead the path to true victory, becoming more like Jesus. God isn't glorified in giving Tim Tebow unlikely victories that somehow redound to God's glory. No, God is glorified in making His children, including Tim Tebow, more like His Son. Sometimes that means leading them to the thrill of victory. Sometimes it means leading them through the agony of defeat.

The more difficult and pertinent question for me isn't does God care, but should I? I don't pray for Steeler victories. I do pray that I, along with my parents and my children, will make memories together. And I pray that we would have grace to accept His providence, even when the Steelers lose.