There is no safe investment.  To love at all is to be vulnerable.  Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly be broken.  If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal.  Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements; lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness.  But in that casket — safe, dark, motionless, airless — it will change.  It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable.  The alternative to tragedy, or at least to the risk of tragedy, is damnation.  The only place outside Heaven where you can be perfectly safe from all the dangers and perturbations of love is Hell. (C. S. Lewis, The Four Loves)

by Richard Shin

Without further ado, let’s do this:

• First off, we have an update from the last Weekly Links here. Glad to see him doing well.
• Tony Reinke quotes from John Piper’s Future Grace on Paul’s blessings of grace at the beginning and end of each epistle. Speaking of the book, some of you might be interested to know that John Piper is publishing a revised edition.
• Mike Riccardi explores the seemingly theological conundrum of Romans 9. He then concludes that in order for Romans 9:19 to make sense, the doctrines of grace–particularly that of total depravity, unconditional election, and irresistible grace–must be true.
• Andy Jones shares nine lessons he learned from the life of Charles Hodge, the 19th century theologian.
• Jared Wilson posts a letter from Wormwood to one of his subordinates on how to sabotage one who works for the “Enemy”. Brothers and sisters, we must pray for our pastors. (This Wormwood sounds an awful lot like the one from C. S. Lewis’ famous The Screwtape Letters)
• Many have asked themselves, “Why does God allow suffering?” Paul Tautges shares 36 biblical purposes of God in our suffering.

Th-th-th-th-th-that’s all, folks! Have a blessed weekend.

Coram Deo