Theology: Roadmap for Relationship
 |
| (Photo Credit: S.M.R.) |
Some might ask, “If Christianity is a relationship with God, what is the point of spending so much time with theology and doctrine? Why not just get on with it?” C.S. Lewis describes theology as a map.[i] If one is to “get on with it (living life),” then a map describes precisely how one can “get on with it.” The map is not the “getting on with it,” and does not replace the “getting on,” but is merely some directions and frames of reference to do so. To go without a map is to get lost. And I dare say, many modern Christians— having at first located the starting point of confessing Christ and being baptized— have since become lost. Lost to a deeper knowledge of God; lost to why they were created in the first place; lost in how to truly relate to an infinite God; lost to how God designed marriage. Some are a bit confused as to the meaning of their God designed gender. The map of theology helps with all of this. Keep in mind that the relationship we are talking about is the relationship between an immutable, eternal, infinite, holy God and finite created Man. For this relationship to work there must be some major protocols in place. For Man, it would behoove him to “follow the directions” for this relationship and not just “wing it.”
Take for example the doctrine of the Fall of Man: it simply declares that there is something very wrong with the human race in his current state. For that reason, formation has always been a major task for the Church: when a believer has become acceptable to God legally— through the shed blood of Christ— they must further become acceptable to God in their manner of life. Theology and this book are about formation, taking that journey from where you are into what God wants you to be. All of this is accomplished under the premise of first having a right relationship with God as is spelled out in soteriology, a division of theology.
Think of a young boy who has been out playing in the mud. Coming into the house, he is vaguely, but truly, recognized as the young man who lives there. Being fully accepted as a family member, this is where he truly belongs, but he is in no condition to come to the dinner table. He must be scrubbed, scoured, and redressed to be acceptable at the table. Proper relationship with all other home members requires this: do not come to the feast covered in mud. The Christian view of life on earth is that the believer is being cleaned up and prepared for that eternal dinner where the Lord sits with His people. This life is a time to lay up treasure in heaven by doing good deeds through God’s Grace. Theology assists with this. It is not just information, but it is how to make oneself respectable in God’s eyes, to please Him and be therefore presentable to all.
For the unregenerate, he has no relationship with the Owner of the house and cannot enter unless he is made acceptable through the shed blood of Christ so He can be adopted into God’s family. This only gives him the right and the ability through God’s Spirit to cry “Abba Father.” (Romans 8:15). But for the believer, life is a preparation for eternity, and a road map to this end is helpful indeed.
To have relationship with God is to understand what He has revealed about Himself, what He has revealed about Man, and how all the universe— with its angels and demons— is a part of the big picture. God wants us to know what is going on with His grand schema for everything. This is where theology comes in. It guides us and explains a lot of things. It shows that we have a great future— now and in eternity— to which we look forward. God does not want us to be ignorant passengers on a train to who-knows-where, but His idea is passengers glued to the windows, absorbing every view on the way. Theology does that. It speaks of where we have been, where we are going, and how we are to get there.
No comments:
Post a Comment