John Owen on Handling Controversy

Another vital component in our approach to controversy that will keep our hearts soft and our mind focused is communion with God.  Not merely communion with God in prayer for help (e.g. ‘Lord help me to remain steadfast as I defend your truth,’ etc.) but also in the truth itself that we are currently contending for.  Owen writes,

When the heart is cast indeed into the mould of the doctrine that the mind embraceth,–when the evidence and necessity of the truth abides in us–when not the sense of the words only is in our heads, but the sense of the thing abides in our hearts–when we have communion with God in the doctrine we contend for–then shall we be garrisoned by the grace of God against all the assaults of men (John Owen, The Glory of Christ; quoted in Beyond the Bounds, ed. Piper  Taylor and Helseth).

The very truth that we are battling for should become a means of fellowship with God!  Usually, when we are fighting for some particular doctrine, we find that our minds become more sharp and certain of the truth itself-controversy has a way of purifying our conception and understanding of the truth.  This clarity, therefore, according to Owen, must not remain in our heads alone, but rather create deep fellowship with God.  This fellowship will keep us near to the Lord and thus far from the dangers of pride and self-reliance; it will also tend to soften our hearts toward our opponents.