Welcome to: Through the Dark Wood
It is only in the valley, that one is granted the vision that truly sees. This does not make worldly sense, for the sense of the world teaches that one must be at the peak of the mountain to see the best. However, the truest sense of this world is sensational only when the teaching is first sourced from a source that is not of this world. Indeed, if what I write from this point forward is not sensational, then there no serious sense in it. It is this sensational teaching that awoke my sense to know that I was living-dead in a shaded valley when I thought I roamed the heights. I too, like the Pilgrim in Dante’s Inferno, found myself awakened by the sensational Sun of Righteousness in the dark wood of worldliness. It is at this point I learned several things that will serve as a fitting introduction to this website.
In the dark wood of error, I chased after my own glory, honor, and immortality in the only way I knew how: Through accomplishments wrought by work ethic, discipline, and the pursuit of perfection in whatever it was that I had set my mind to. After excelling in academics and athletics, and then becoming a Navy SEAL, I pursued whatever would come next with the same zeal. Then came the sensational message that woke my sense. The message that said I am a nobody whose works are filthy rags before the Maker of the Universe. Upon reflection, I don’t know why I persistently pursued perfection other than a restlessness in my soul that would never rest, even when I attained that which I previously thought would take me to the peak of the mountain. It was at this peak I thought I would be able to rest. From the valley, I saw that the peak was sought in vain because I never actually made it out of the valley. It is from this valley that I learned how small, insignificant, depraved, and helpless I am, for in the valley everything looks much larger and out of reach. Pertaining to this experience, there is a reason why the Puritan’s referred to it as “The Valley of Vision.”[1] Until God reveals himself to you in his majesty and holiness, you will never know you are stumbling along in the dark valley of spiritual death, all while your worldly mind thinks you’re on top of the world.
Now there is a mountain we are called to ascend, but it is not on our own volition or merit that we do ascend, but that of another. The one who was fully and truly God and fully and truly man, God-incarnate. Jesus Christ, the rock cut not from human hands who was promised all the nations, was born in the days of Caesar Augustus (Dan. 2:34, 44; Luke 2:1-2). He took on human flesh and subjected himself to the fallen creation he himself cursed long ago (Gen. 3:15). He lived a perfect life, fulfilled the entire Old Testament, was crucified at the hands of men, and was raised on the third day by the Father through the Spirit (1 Cor. 15:4; Rom. 8:11). He then ascended to the right hand of the Father as the representative of humanity, and is now reigning and subjecting all enemies under his feet, of which I was one of them (Acts 2:34-36; Eph. 1:19-23). I was an enemy until I heard the Gospel that is the power unto salvation (Rom. 1:16-17). And so, by the Grace of God through faith alone in the person and work of Christ alone, I was clothed with the righteousness of him who ascended and given the eyes to see and the ears to hear spiritual truth (Gal. 3:27; 1 Cor. 2:14-16). This was not of my own accord, but of Him who spoke the stars and all of creation into existence (Ps. 33:6-9 cf. Gen. 1). It is at this point the Christian pilgrimage out of the dark wood of worldliness begins. The adventure, that is the Christian life, became more real and more complicated than I could have imagined.
The journey out of the dark wood, also known as sanctification, is not a simple matter. It is that of walking a narrow path between two precipices you can’t see the bottom of. The path itself is not smooth either, but rugged, requiring you to measure each and every step by the Word of God. While I was traversing the path laid before me, I learned also of a double-demand placed on our nature as we live in the already-not yet. That we are to simultaneously live in the Valley of Vision and live with Christ in the Heavenly places as we live here on earth in time and space (Eph. 2:5-6). It is not an either or, but both. This is because if you choose to live in the Valley alone, you will be paralyzed by the fear of God and your own depravity into inaction on your pilgrimage. On the other hand, if you solely tread up the heavenly places in your mind, your arrogance and pride will come out of your fingertips. This demeanor will surely lead you to forgetting the Creator-Creature distinction and your place before Him, to which it will not be long before you find yourself tumbling down either precipice. To make it more complicated, on this pilgrimage we are to remember what Alexander the Great once said, “He will render to each one according to his works: to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory, honor, and immortality, he will grant eternal life.”[2] Just kidding… the Apostle Paul wrote that to the Christians in Rome. So, my original pursuit and longing was right to some degree, the difference now is that it is rightly oriented. Christians are to seek glory, honor, and immortality because of the eternal life granted to us objectively in Christ.[3] Obedience is performed out of gratitude because of salvation, not for it. It is only a saving faith that could possibly keep us on the path.
And so, to conclude my introduction, it is through this blog I will recount all that found there in the dark wood, and all that I will continue to find and learn on this pilgrimage through it by God’s grace (And whatever else I decide to write about). I will leave you with a quote from GK Chesterton concerning the Christian life that sums up my thoughts, “The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting. It has been found difficult; and left untried.”
Welcome to Through the Dark Wood.
[1] See Arthur Bennett’s collection of Puritan Prayers called The Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers and Devotionals (published by the Banner of Truth Trust).
[2] Romans 2:6-7, ESV
[3] “As Irenaeus said, this principle is not abrogated at the coming of Jesus Christ. Rather, it remains in place objectively in the world until Christ returns as a chief means of holding it accountable to God’s moral commandments. It remains in place subjectively for salvation in an individual’s life until that person comes to Christ. It even remains after a person comes to Christ, except now, rather than earning a reward, obedience is rendered out of thankfulness for the reward which has already been given through Christ’s obedience and faith in him.” – Van Dorn, D. (2014). Covenant Theology: A Reformed Baptist Primer. Waters of Creation Publishing. Kindle Version. 49.