Something that really annoys me is theology-geeks, you get a lot in Christian blogging circles… theology-geeks do annoy me, but not simply because of that, I get annoyed when people have their theology all sorted in nice little boxes, they’ve read Grudem, Milne, Berkhoff etc. and all the i’s are dotted and t’s are crossed. I used to be like that, I probably still am.
Anyway, it’s not just that they’re geeks, it’s that so many live their lives with their nice theological position but it’s disconnected from reality, it’s not qualified by any life experience that tests whether your beliefs are modelled in the way you live in response to real life events.
I’ve had a pretty crap year… it’s not as bad as most, not as bad as being a Christian in Orissa, not as bad as running a AIDS orphanage in the midst of cholera in Zimbabwe… but it’s not been great! Part of me has to rejoice though; a few months ago I had to preach on James 1 – “consider it pure joy my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds” – God has been teaching me what it means to suffer in the knowledge that He’s in control, He’s brought me through trials of many kinds and teaches me lots in those times.
What will you do when you face death, when you face illness, rejection, pain, heartache, poverty, depression, despair, anger, bitterness, doubt, loneliness, unbelief, relationship breakdown, shattered dreams, crushed hopes…?
Will you cry out to God, your Rock and refuge? (Psalm 62)
Will you trust that God works all things for your good (Rom 8:28) and that through trials He brings about maturity (James 1) in the believer?
Does your theology of God’s sovereignty provide answers and comfort in the midst of trials?
Has your theology of God’s sovereignty been tested through trials? (If not, it will be – are you prepared?)
Have you had the opportunity to reconcile what you believe about God with how you live your life in the midst of trials?
But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body. So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.
I say these things not as someone who did all the right things, who responded rightly in all of life’s situations, not as someone who has the right answers… but just as someone who knows that having a big view of God is a comfort in hard times, and knowing that coming to Him, seeking His refuge has gotta be better than not doing that!
Great post. I’m so glad I read it today; I can relate to so much of what you say here.
And – oh yes – Merry Christmas!