Though my body leans toward obesity, my brain has been malnourished. This past weekend, I decided to do something about it — I went to an apologetics conference.
People that know me know that I don’t do a lot of “just fun” things for myself. I go to work, church and write. That’s about the extent of my weekly activities. So, when I heard about a conference that was taking place at a nearby church, I decided to sign up. The last time I did such a thing was about six weeks before my husband died in 2015. I remember thinking then, when I talked to him about going to that conference, that I used the same argument: “I need this for me!” He didn’t even go with me, but I remember soaking up the words of every speaker and loving it.
As I prepared to head to the church, shortly after work on this past Friday, all these thoughts came back through my mind. The grief tried to come up, but I worked on focusing on the opportunity to just listen and learn, to feed my mind and grow. I was not disappointed.
After about ten hours of lecture and a stack of books later, I returned home with information overload and lots to process and read. I have quotes to remember and share, like:
We love truth when it enlightens us, and we hate truth when it convicts us. St. Augustine
What has Athens to do with Jerusalem? Tertullian
We have the responsibility to get the Gospel to the next generation intact! Meeke Addison
At MTV, we don’t just shoot for the 14 year olds, we own them.” Robert Pittman, (MTV, I heart Radio)
In the midst of a suffering and broken world, Jesus chose suffering to save us. Daniel Ritchie
The reason people don’t want Christianity is because it comes with a moral obligation. Alex McFarland
Why did I choose to pack my work-tired brain with more information about our culture and the Christian faith? Because I believe learning is God’s way of reminding us that we don’t know it all. We’re never too old to learn, and I was so happy to learn new insights to an old reality.
In many ways, this conference was a reminder that nothing is new under the sun, but simply a change in packaging. Just like your morning cereal gets re-branded to make it more attractive to a new generation of potential cereal consumers, Satan repackages sin to draw in a whole new world of buyers. It’s our job to see through the new language and new look and ask the questions that once again reveal the age-old heart of the matter. That’s the job of apologetics — sharing in an understandable way the hope that is in us and the hope that is possible for others to know.
So, while many things grieved my heart this weekend and stretched my mind, I came home full and challenged to press on toward that goal until the day of Christ’s return.
Are you feeding your stomach and forgetting your mind? Don’t neglect that which can help you the most to fulfill the task he’s placed before you. Get some brain nourishment and be blessed.
Grace and Peace