CS Lewis is certainly correct that those who are willing to seek knowledge in unfavorable conditions are the ones who achieve more. Hard work, as it turns out, tends to pay off. But Lewis was a Christian and as such we may find more in this quote than just his encouragement to pursue knowledge regardless of the conditions you find yourself in.

I had the privilege to co-lead an 8-week study of the book of Acts at my church recently and now that it has concluded, I thought it could be helpful to share the slide deck and speaking notes here.

When I came across this verse the other day: “Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.” Romans 12:12, I posted it on my Instagram Story, with this subsequent thought: “circumstances change and so does our perception of them. God never changes. So our communication with him must not change based on the circumstances we find ourselves in.” And while what I wrote remains true, I’d like to expand my thoughts and get to what I think Paul is saying in this verse specifically.

Love should abound in conjunction with knowledge and discernment. Our renewal through Jesus is a matter of both heart and mind. Through this renewal we should be able to test (Romans 12.2) what is the will of God, what is true, what is worthy of our time and affections.

Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God.

For by grace you have been saved through faith.

When we combine this resolute, unwavering, unchanging, unflinching love with the promise that it will persist and endure forever we are presented with a promise that seems too good to be true. We can think it’s too good to be true because we’re human and we know we aren’t capable of that sort of love but the funny thing about God and the Bible is that their promises always come true. It would be annoying that God is always perfect and his words are always true if he wasn’t so good and loving and merciful and gracious and forgiving and beautiful and awesome.