Cornerstone continues to enjoy an abundance of new little girls!  With Baby Miriam’s arrival yesterday, this makes four in the last forty–three days.  If you’re familiar with the joy of little girls, you’ll know that this is not considered to be a “surplus” of little girls.  Nor would the words “excess” or “glut” come into play.  One should rather think of it as a “wealth” of little girls.  Yea, even a “bounty.”

As Martin Luther once put it — in his typically reserved and timid way of speaking — “People who do not like children are swine, dunces, and blockheads, not worthy to be called men and women, because they despise the blessing of God, the Creator and Author of marriage.”

C.S. Lewis (who, ironically, wrote some of the most wonderful children’s literature ever printed) confessed his own flaws in this respect.  He once wrote of himself: “I theoretically hold that one ought to like children, but am shy with them in practice.” In another place he wrote: “I myself do not enjoy the society of small children:… I recognize this as a defect in myself.”

But by faith Christians say with Paul that our children are “holy” (1 Corinthians 7.14), and we lift them up in our hands before the Lord and give him deepest thanks.

“And as for me, this is my covenant with them,” says the Lord: “My Spirit that is upon you, and my words that I have put in your mouth, shall not depart out of your mouth, or out of the mouth of your offspring, or out of the mouth of your children’s offspring,” says the Lord, “from this time forth and forevermore.”
—Isaiah 59.21

Here’s an action shot of a few of the ladies who recently attended the Cornerstone Women’s Retreat.  This year’s topic was “Resting in God.” Kate Q. led the discussion, and I understand it was wonderful.  I — not being a lady — decided not to attend.  But here’s a blurb on the retreat from a recent church newsletter:

We serve a God who rested on the seventh day and set apart one day in seven for his people to enjoy rest.  Jesus promises rest to all who come to him, but so often our lives seem hectic and full of anxiety rather than peaceful and full of Christ’s rest.  Join other women of Cornerstone as we take time together to rest, connect with one another, and remind ourselves of the joy of Resting in God.

The last time we were in our category entitled “The Story,” I offered you the award–winning post of January 29, 2008… “Vi–king: (n.) a sea–roving bandit; pirate.”

Okay, it hasn’t actually won any awards quite yet.  Patience…

But now — as promised — let’s take a further peek into how the gospel brought an end to the Age of the Vikings.  Note well that what I’m about to report is certainly not commendable or praiseworthy in all of its particulars. 

Yet this is also part of the story of the church… God sovereignly working good — not only through the wickedness of the church’s enemies (as we saw last time) — but the story of God even working good through the misguided foolishness of the church itself.

Meet Olaf Trygvesson.  Olaf was a Viking’s Viking.  It was said that he could out–swim, out–climb, out–leap, and out–fight anyone.  He could juggle five daggers in the air, always catching them by the handle.  In all measures of Viking–ness, he was unmatched.

He was a far–traveling warrior, terrorizing Holland, France, Jutland, England, Northumberland, Scotland, the Hebrides, other Vikings on the Isle of Man, Ireland, Wales, Cornwall, etc.  History records that everywhere he went, he would leave “in his wake a great harvest for the ravens and wolves.” People fled at his name.  He was infamous for slaughtering his victims with a savage cruelty, “sparing neither the women nor children of tender age.”

On one occasion he returned to England, “burning villages, laying waste the lands, putting numbers of people to death by fire and sword, without regard to sex, and sweeping off an immense booty.”

But after an interesting encounter with a fortuneteller who claimed to have the gift of prophecy from the Christian God, Olaf was baptized… promising never again to visit war upon England.

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Cornerstone is only four–and–a–half years old, but in that short amount of time we’ve been blessed by God to see one of the most dramatic and breath–taking pictures of the gospel lived out in our midst three glorious times. 

The first was when we saw little Jacob (from Azerbaijan) adopted into the home of a Cornerstone family.  The second time was when little Ani (from Ukraine) was adopted into the home of a Cornerstone family.  And just this week, little Ellie (from Guatemala) was adopted and brought into her new home.

Welcome home, Ellie!  We love you already, and we look forward to getting to know you!

A friend of mine in seminary use to tell a wonderful story about adoption.  His father was a pediatrician, and one of his patients was a little boy.  It seems that whenever the doctor saw this little boy, he was always wearing the same shirt — an old, worn, ratty–looking, faded sweatshirt with the word “Wilson” printed on the front (“Wilson” as in the sporting–goods retailer). 

The doctor often noted how odd it was that this boy from a well–to–do family was forever wearing the same old sweatshirt, which eventually began to look much worse for wear.  Finally he asked the question.

Here’s the story the doctor was told: 

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The Bible talks about feasting and food quite a bit.  If you want to let your mind wander through the Scriptures tracing out the theme of food, go read the June 23, 2007 post entitled (creatively enough) “Food.” It won’t do more than just get you started, but you’ll see something of what I’m talking about.  This book is not exactly vegetarian–friendly reading. 

“A cucumber should be well sliced, and dressed with pepper and vinegar, and then thrown out as good for nothing.”
—Samuel Johnson

“Vegetables are interesting but lack a sense of purpose when unaccompanied by a good cut of meat.”
—Fran Lebowitz

Noting God’s interest in food and feasting (both as reality and as metaphor), it shouldn’t surprise us that when the King took his place upon the mountain to teach his people how true godliness is revealed and lived out (Matthew 5.1,2), he said to them, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.” (verse 6)

God promises complete and utter satisfaction to those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. 

But what does it look like to hunger and thirst for righteousness? 

Is Jesus talking our “legal” righteousness before God — that is, our justification?  If so, then that means to hunger and thirst for Christ Himself, for he is our only righteousness. 

Or is Jesus talking about our “moral” righteousness — a righteousness of character and conduct that is pleasing to God?  If so, then we are again driven to Christ Himself because that kind of infinite righteousness will never be achieved by our merely external conformity to a collection of rules.  That would be the deceptive, self–flattering trap in which the pharisees found themselves.  The moral righteousness that God requires penetrates to heart, mind, and motive. 

But perhaps Jesus is pushing us even beyond that.  Perhaps he’s pressing his disciples to cultivate a hunger and craving for the redemptive good of the world itself. Perhaps we should consider this as a call to a greater interest in a “social” righteousness.  God is quite interested in that form of righteousness too, after all.  Indeed, that’s part of the hunger that drove him to the cross.  John Stott puts it this way:

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