Echo of Glory?
Welcome to my new blog — Echo of Glory! For the inaugural post, I thought it would be helpful to give a brief explanation of the name. Why Echo? Of course, we all know that a physical "echo" is a sound reflecting off of a surface and into our ears (sorry, that's the physics part of me talking). The classic example is shouting "Hello!" into a cavern or canyon, and hearing the sound repeat over and over again. Depending on the shape of the reflecting medium, the sound be changed, or distorted, from the original; in fact, the echo can take on an entirely different life than the original sound! (Try shouting inside a cave to see what I mean.)
But, a metaphorical "echo" has a slightly definition. Like a physical echo, it too has an origin that is not itself. Like a physical echo, it also needs a medium to propagate the sound. However, it adds this all-important distinction: a metaphorical echo is a close parallel or repetition to the original. It is not a distortion. It does not take on a life of its own.
The aim of this blog is to be a metaphorical echo, preserving the original message, meaning, and tenor of the original sound. At it's very best, it is a repetition of its source, the same thing said in the same way with the same intent.
Why Glory? But, if this site is a echo, what is it an echo of? Lord-willing, it will be an echo of glory. Now, there are many occurrences of the word "glory" in the Bible, and there are a few different uses of word. But, of the hundreds of occurrences, the overwhelming majority use "glory" to refer to God's glory — God's inherent weightiness, magnificence, worthiness, preeminence, beauty, splendor. Thus, it is not an overstatement to say that when the Bible speaks of glory, it is primarily speaking of God — His importance, His transcendence, His awesomeness, His greatness.
This blog aims to be an echo — an echo of God. It aims to say what He has already said through His Word in the same way He said it, with the same intent, the same tenor. It is about retelling timeless truths, about reiterating what the glorious God willed for us to know. For in biblical Christianity, what is true is not new, and what is new is not true.
How to Read? The only reason you should heed anything on this blog, whether a quote from a book or an article on the Scriptures, is if it echoes what the Scriptures say. This is the criteria I use to evaluate the "Best" sermons, books, resources, and it is the criteria I ask you to use when judging this blog.
Yes, I invite you: test it by the Scriptures! If I correctly interpret and explain what the text of Scripture says, it is Truth, for it is as if God is speaking through a man. Thus, you must believe it. But if what I say distorts the Word of God or steps off of the foundation of the Word of God, my words are nothing but human speculation. Then you must reject it. This is the great lens through which we view the world, and all ideas in it.
I pray that you are blessed by what you read here. I pray that the Lord uses it to change you into the image of His glorious Son. May we all heed the voice of the Lord.
"Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen." (1 Timothy 1:17)