I am reminded of the words of the great hymn, “I once was
blind, but now I see.”
Powers was an atheist and had major hostilities
toward evangelical Christianity. In essence, she was an enemy of God top to
bottom. Romans 8:7 informs us that the mindset of the flesh is hostile toward
God. A fleshly mindset is a worldly mindset. It is what we would call the
non-Christian worldview. It is a way or pattern of thinking. Kirsten describes
her experience of conversion as an invasion. I think she means she was not
seeking God, answers, meaning, or anything like that. In fact, she describes
the experience as unwelcome. This would describe what Jesus called in John 8:44
as divine dragging. This is the conviction of Christian truth and the pressure
of the Holy Spirit bringing Powers to the realization that Christian theism is
actually true.
I don’t really feel like I had any courage…when I became
a Christian, I just gave in… It wasn’t courageous; I didn’t have any choice. I
kept trying to not believe and I… just couldn’t avoid it. If I could have
avoided it, I would have. There is nothing convenient about it in my life, in
the world I live in. It’s not like living in the South or living somewhere
where everybody is a Christian. I live in a world where nobody is a believer.
Notice how Kirsten describes her new-found faith. She did
not go out looking for meaning in life, evaluate the truth-claims of the
Christian worldview, experience pressure from her friends, family, and
colleagues, and finally decide Jesus made all the sense of the world. Exactly
the opposite is the case. She was a liberal democrat, a highly visible
contributor on Fox News, with no hint of Christian experience in her background
or especially in her present world. She had every worldly reason not to place
her faith in Christ. Yet, because the call of God is efficacious, Kirsten’s
battle against Christian truth was not one she could win. You see, when God
opens the eyes of the spiritually blind, the see the truth of Who Jesus really
is and what He has really accomplished for them. Faith finally makes sense.
Christian truth becomes attractive. Jesus Himself becomes an irresistible Lord
that you want to please with every aspect of your life. He is not viewed as
some magical being that will save your marriage, heal your sicknesses, help you
get on at work and climb the ladder, make your children more respectful and
polite, and help you feel really good about yourself. What Jesus does is open
your eyes to your wickedness, to your irrational rejection of all that is godly
and good, and recue our miserable, rebellious heart and soul from eternal
damnation. He rushes in, bringing us life and peace in Himself, but real
trouble and persecution in this world.
A few weeks ago I began to notice something different about
Kirsten Powers’ comments and mostly her arguments on Fox News. I was wondering
if she was moving toward conservative politics. I could not tell what was going
on, but it seemed to me that something was very different about her. Now I know
what that something is. You see, Kirsten was dating a man who invited her to
attend a church in NYC. And this was not any church. The Church that Kirsten
visited was Christ Redeemer Presbyterian Church, pastored by none other than
Tim Keller. Now, even though I have some serious concerns about some of Keller’s
views, I do think he preaches the gospel. So Kirsten Powers very likely had her
first encounter with the gospel. And sometimes, the gospel is just terribly
inconvenient. It will change your life!
Kirsten’s interview, even on paper is really quite profound.
I confess that it brought me to tears, hearing about how God worked in her
life. I could not help but become emotional as Kirsten described the
regenerative work of God as he gave her a new heart.
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