Reading Puritans is a humbling experience. Why do I say that? If a contemporary were to write the book with a title “The Heart of Christ”, what do we expect to get? It would not surprise me if it were to fill with emotive vocabulary, appealing to our sentiments, speaking our language in the way how we want to be loved. There is an irony of our age – we are so smart and yet I would say we are much less learned than the Puritans. Perhaps there is a bias because only the works of those who were substantial can stand the test of time and are passed down. Honestly it is a struggle to find people around who demonstrates similar devotion to Christ and the study of His Word to the Puritans. But what is more saddening is that most people do not know what they have missed or there would have been book clubs on the Puritans? I hear people take to the platform and what they manage to do is to give us statements without substance, pitching a point without labour. I hear soundbite language stringed together without coherence. Have we lost our minds to reason? This is not to say there is not any, but to say that we have to really look for it.
Reading Puritans takes patience, and this is unpopular with modern-day culture. We want everything instant and do not have time. Reading Puritans is a way to develop the patience to listen to God. Whenever I read a book by a Puritan, I am reminded how different their religion was from what we practise today. We may say that it is modernization, but I say it is hollowing out of substance. It is a constant battle against me-centred religion.
Puritans always go back to the Bible. They do not tell you anything else. Everything they write down has its bible-base, or it seems, it is not worth writing down! Goodwin addresses one question in this little booklet: What is the heart of Christ now that He has ascended to heaven? The undertone of the question is the doubt we may have that He is glorified and His heart towards us is diminished. I have never asked this question myself until I pick up this book. Goodwin proves to us from the bible that Christ’s heart is the same and unchanging as when He walked the earth; in some ways, He loves us even more intense and perfect because He has been perfected. What do I get from this book in terms of substance? An insight into the human nature of Christ that I have not seen before. One argument that he points out is that to fulfil His office as our High Priest He is drawn to us as before in His human nature if not more. Goodwin takes us through Hebrews quite a bit. Fundamentally the priestly office is an office of grace and mercy, so Christ must still be full of grace and mercy towards us in order to fulfil His priestly office in heaven. We also look at the relationship of Christ and His Church. What does it mean that He loves them as His own? Wow! That mystic union of Christ and us! I mean the depth that Puritans can lead you is unmatched by what we come across on a daily basis. Pick it up and you will be blessed. It is a beautiful love song sung – do you still doubt? This book is an annex to a discourse on Christ in all those great and most solemn actions of his – his obedience unto death, his resurrection, ascension into heaven, his sitting at God’s right hand, and intercession for us. It makes me wonder if I should pick up that discourse too!
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Wonderful of Christ’s Unconditional Love
