Didn't make it to the conference?

I had the privilege of going to the Philadelphia Conference on Reformed Theology this weekend with almost a dozen folks from Trinity. We heard some great teaching by some incredibly gifted pastors and teachers.

The conference began with this thesis statement:
We are here to see Jesus, to learn that all things are set under His feet, and that one day His victory shall be visible--and one day every tongue shall confess He is Lord.

But the weather was a little hot, and my parking garage was a little far away from my hotel. One of two tiny elevators was broken. My room keys, on the other hand, worked just fine after the first two failures and replacements. Eight flights up stairs--up, down, up, down, up. My sister got sick, my friend was sick, and the entire city of Philadelphia didn't sleep, but chose to set off sirens outside my window all night.

But that doesn't change the facts: All things are about Jesus. All things--elevators, sickness, theology, me--are set under His feet.

Which answer is truer, DA Carson asked, did God cause my sister to get sick or did germs? Both are true. Which is more fundamental?

Phil Ryken said, "One of the most cursed things we suffer is the constant underlying discontent. While things seem to get better, people feel worse. The fundamental problem is a fallen world cannot satisfy."

A great theology conference in a fallen world cannot satisfy. A cool drink on a hot day cannot satisfy. A peaceful rest, a strengthening meal, a friendly conversation--all cannot satisfy intimately and infinitely. Only God can.

The moral of the story is not to guard your heart, DA Carson concluded. The point is to choose your treasure, because where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. Don't plan for the next thirty years--plan for the next fifty billion years. But all of that with a spirit of hope, not of curmudgeonly slavery to duty: "We cannot be properly mature if we are not hope-oriented."

Some things to hope for: God hears and answers prayer. Jesus will return in great glory. There is a resurrection from the dead, far greater than we can imagine. We will not be capable of sin in glory. God is at work in us every day. Those who trust in Him will not be put to shame.