The devil is a better theologian than any of us and is a devil still. ~A.W. Tozer
Theology is my life-long love. I read it, debate it, study it. I sometimes defend my version of it with a passion that surprises me. Here’s the problem. Theology is not so much the study of God, but the study of what others believe about God.
Which is appropriate. We don’t reinvent the wheel with each generation. Our faith stands on the wisdom of the past.
But if the truth we are defending is the truth we have been told, a reflection of the bubble surrounding our thought life, how can we know it is truth?
Power struggles waged on websites and from pulpits distract and wound the church. Gate keepers and destroyers of tradition alike form a death grip on ideas and verbally stone any nuanced discussion in between. Hostility is passed down the pews behind the offering plate, and the message is clear: whatever you do, don’t believe and act as they do, or you will be next.
Engage in the battle or drift with indifference? I have sampled the futility of both. There is a better way.
Live what you know
- Stop nibbling and start devouring. Open your Bible and eat the entire meal. Read it, not just a few proof-texts, not just the chapters that confirm your own bias, but the whole story–looking for God’s overall plan, his heart, motives and desires.
- With humility and an open mind, and the sincere intention to allow the Spirit of Jesus Christ to penetrate your defenses, invite him to shake and reshape your assumptions.
- Then tangibly live out the heart, motives and desires of God in the world he told us he loves.
This is true theology, this is true religion, this is what changes the world.
How have your assumptions about God been shaken lately?
