Tim Keller passed away today. I hadn't gotten emotional before when a pastor/theologian passed away...especially one I didn't know personally...but last night, when I read the tweet from his son about him entering hospice care, I got choked up. Hearing his son articulate what Tim was saying and praying for in his final days was so encouraging and beautiful that I was moved by it.
I was first introduced to Tim Keller back in college. In one of my classes, the professor talked about the value of listening to sermons. At that time, I wasn't in the habit of listening to sermons beyond those I heard in chapel or church on Sunday. One of my fellow students remarked that he enjoyed listening to Tim Keller. So, I decided to start listening to his sermons. I found them so encouraging/rebuking. How he could articulate and apply the truths of Scripture clearly and effectively...I was blown away.
One of my favorite quotes from him has been shared widely...but I have found it so insightful when thinking about our culture and even our own selves...he said, "If your God never disagrees with you, you might be worshiping an idealized version of yourself." So good and accurate...
Now, I feel obligated to give the caveat that I did not agree with everything he would say or did say in life (Just as we can say that about anyone). Still, I consider some of my differences with him pretty fundamental...however, I believe he was a genuine Christian. That was clear in every sermon...that he trusted in Jesus for salvation.
He passed away after enduring a 3-year battle with pancreatic cancer. He is now in the presence of the Lord he loved and proclaimed. He is no longer suffering...he is filled with joy that we can't even fathom. I'm thankful for Tim Keller and pray for his family as they grieve.
But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore encourage one another with these words.
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 (ESV)
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