Beautiful and True

Dear St Andrew’s,

Last Sunday, in our final sermon in the Worth Sharing series, I encouraged us to pray for others, love them, tell our story and invite them to come and see Jesus for themselves.

I have been greatly encouraged by the stories our staff team have heard of people doing just that. Invitations have been offered to friends, neighbours, colleagues and family members. Some have been accepted; others have not—at least, not yet. But every gracious invitation is an act of love and a step of faith. Thank you for taking those steps.

This Sunday we begin our two-week guest series: The Beauty and the Sense of Christianity. You may wonder why we have chosen those two subjects—and why we are considering them in that order.

The idea is not new. Nearly four centuries ago, the French mathematician and Christian philosopher Blaise Pascal reflected on how we commend Christianity to others. We should show that it is reasonable, he wrote, but also “make it attractive” and help people wish that it were true—before showing that it is indeed true.

More recently, the late New York City pastor and evangelist Tim Keller adopted a similar approach. Keller observed that many people have little idea what Christianity actually offers. So he would explore questions such as: How do we find meaning? Where can we find an identity that will not crush us? How can we face suffering? Only when people begin to see the attractiveness of Christianity are they often motivated to ask: “But is it true?”

That is the journey we hope to take over these two Sundays.

By the beauty of Christianity, we mean its moral beauty and emotional depth; its capacity to make sense of our longings, loves and sorrows, and our desire for justice, forgiveness, hope and transcendence. Christianity is not merely useful or respectable. In Jesus Christ, it is deeply compelling and genuinely beautiful.

But Christianity is not simply a comforting story that we might wish were true. So, on the following Sunday, we will consider the sense of Christianity: why it is grounded in reality, intellectually serious, historically rooted and able to withstand honest questions. The first talk seeks to awaken desire; the second to strengthen conviction.

Modern psychology helps us understand the wisdom of this approach. In his book The Happiness Hypothesis, Jonathan Haidt pictures the human mind as an elephant and its rider. The elephant represents our powerful intuitions and desires; the rider represents our conscious reasoning. We sometimes imagine that the rider decides where we go, but often the elephant is already moving and the rider merely explains the journey afterwards! If we speak only to the head, we may never reach the heart. If we appeal only to the heart, we may produce enthusiasm without conviction. We need both beauty and truth, desire and reason.

The Bible understands us even better. God gave us minds to consider what is true, but also hearts that love and desire. The risen Jesus opened the Scriptures to his disciples—and their hearts burned within them (Luke 24:32). Christian faith engages the whole person because Jesus is both true and beautiful.

So please keep praying. Pray for those you have invited, whether or not they have yet said yes. Pray for David Rietveld and Tim Watson as they speak. Pray that our services will be warm and welcoming. And pray that, through us, people might see Christianity afresh—and ultimately see the beauty and truth of Christ himself.

Blessings,

James