As you come to worship, always remember the romance of orthodoxy. By this we do not mean romance in the popular sense, romance having to do with mere sentimentalism. Rather, we are referring to truth in the sentiments, love in the affections, and deep courage in the battle – we are thinking of true adventure. We are talking about dragon-slaying, and all the emotional glory that accompanies it. The Scriptures declare that it is our purpose here, in this assembly of worship, to tread the serpent underfoot, for we are the body of our Lord and master. He treads the worm underfoot, crushing the head. We are His feet, and so we are privileged to crush the head of the dragon.
This not done with our paltry substitutes – it is not done with bow wow theological dogmatism, it is not done with liturgical correctness, it is not done by lining our ideological thoughts up in sterile little lines. Secular philosophy has no calendar, autonomous ideology has no rhythm, blind rationalism doesn’t know how to look forward to Christmas, or how to remember Pentecost.
Throughout, the Scriptures are clear. The just shall live by faith. This includes the cycle of our lives, and recovering this aspect of orthodoxy is a great romance, a great adventure.