Living Theology
“Life isn’t logical, or sensible, or orderly. Life is a mess most of the time. And theology must be lived in the midst of that mess.” - Chuck Colson, founder of Prison Fellowship ministry.
Opening up my document and realizing that none of my work was saved before my computer automatically updated, caused my already throbbing ears to pound even worse than they were before I sat down to complete the past due article. All the wisdom from the sweet blog post I had just written about embracing the beauty in things that play out differently than we originally imagine, escaped me in seconds including a response that proves I have yet to grasp the very concept I was just trying to teach.
Knowing that God uses my circumstances to teach me, it’s no surprise that I would be challenged as to how far these convictions go within seconds after I made this declaration. Do I truly believe that the Lord works all things together for good or is this something, like many others, that I freely pass along without truly understanding the value of its meaning? (Romans 8:28)
Believe it or not, I’ve actually learned this exact lesson once before. Not about the blessing in diversity, but about not getting angry when God chooses to rewrite my story. One would think that because it was so extremely difficult for me to surrender my will over for God’s will that I would never desire to struggle against Him again. It’s almost impossible for anyone to see how I could ever grow discouraged if Creator God ever choose to edit my work. Without a doubt, my testimony is evidence enough that He gives beauty for ashes and is the author of any goodness found in me. (Isaiah 61:3)
Why do we shudder when we see His supernatural eraser near our agendas? Our desires are in no way perfectly holy, but we act as though we need no reproof. We so easily forget that without His abundant grace, we cease to be anything worthy of notice.
Warren W. Wiersbe states in his commentary on Ecclesiastes that the Christian should love life, seeking to put the most into it and getting the most out of it, to the glory of God. That “we may not enjoy everything in life, or be able to explain everything about life, but that is not important. We live by promises and not by explanation.” (1 Peter 3:10, Ps. 34:12)
We can be confident that where the Spirit of the Lord is, there too is freedom. (2 Cor. 3:17)
I will mediate on your precepts and fix my eyes on your ways. I will delight in your statutes; I will not forget your word.
Psalm 119: 15-16 (ESV)