11 Jan God’s Astonishing Love
The new book, Remembrance, Communion, and Hope, will be out in a few weeks! Here’s a meditation from the book on the durable, eternal love that we’re incorporated into in the Christian life and worship:
“As mind-bending as it may seem, when the Spirit incorporates us into the loving communion of Jesus the Son, we are incorporated into a durable, eternal love that is older than creation itself.
This is a love that does not move to and fro like the updating of one’s ‘relationship status’ on Facebook; it is not a product of Valentine’s Day swooning.
This eternal love echoes through the ages in the praise the creation itself sings to the Creator. ‘Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad; let the sea resound, and all that is in it. Let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them; let all the trees of the forest sing for joy.’ (Ps. 96:11–12)
In the sign-act of the Supper, God gives an instrument to his people to participate in his steady, eternal love. The triune God’s love is not a spigot, or even a fountain, but a raging waterfall that carries along his people as they are moved and sent into a world parched for life.”
Endorsements:
“Regular Eucharist reminds us what we are prone to forget: Matter matters. Billings clearly (and ecumenically) understands this enchanted world where God is showing up everywhere, particularly in the Eucharist. Readers of this significant work will walk away with an invitation to experience greater (re)formation through the sacramental imagination—an imagination demanding that we literally taste and see that God is, in fact, good.”
AJ Sherrill
— Mars Hill Bible Church, Grandville, Michigan
“Billings again teaches us regarding the multifaceted sum of the gospel. For many who have turned in recent years to a more sacramental piety, he alerts us to ways in which such practices ought always to express the gospel of Jesus Christ. For others who still find themselves holding the Supper at bay or struggling to see its significance, he suggests ways in which it promises a better grasp of the breadth, length, height, and depth of the love of God. . . . This book will help you remember more gratefully, commune more alertly, and hope more resolutely when you come to the table to receive freely that great gospel promise—the gifts of God for the people of God.”
Michael Allen
— Reformed Theological Seminary, Orlando