Theology on Theology

There is right and there is wrong. There are absolutes. No matter what my opinion or interpretation, it doesn’t matter. I look at it this way, it I start walking toward the edge of a tall building, jump off and say “I can fly”, the end result will still be the same, regardless of my opinion or what I believe about the situation.
That being said, none of us has the slightest clue whether our view of the truth really is or not. We may have reasons for our convictions, we may have Scriptures, but the truth is so did the Pharisees. There are things from Scripture about which there can be no debate. Jesus is the only way to heaven. The only way to believe otherwise is to reject red letters. I don’t budge on that. Whether you want to sprinkle or dunk on the other hand, that isn’t an eternal question.
I have theology I hold to be true, and it goes much further than eternal issues. However, I could be wrong. In fact, I’m most certainly wrong on some of it. You are too. I am not discounting the value of a deep foundation of theology, but my point is that I will choose not to sacrifice a relationship over something I could be wrong about. I will not lose my ability to co-labor with other believers to reach a lost and dying world because they sprinkle and I dunk.

Christians around the world have split into more sects and denominations and left good churches because of petty arguments over opinion, ignoring the admonition of Christ to be one body. I just look at it all and think that, when we get to eternity, we will realize how little some of the stuff we made such a big deal about really mattered.
You and I will disagree from time to time. If we don’t, one of us isn’t doing any thinking. Disagreement is not an indication it is time to break fellowship, it’s an opportunity to expand our thinking and grow. Basically, as long as we can agree on the basics, the rest of my theology is adaptable, because I have to be willing to change as I learn.
Anything short of that is making an idol out of my theology, making it higher than God’s word. Let’s find the points on which we agree, work together to accomplish something great for Christ in our lifetime, and maintain an attitude of acceptance on the areas that don’t matter.

Community pt 2

It seems like you can't talk about friendship and intimacy with other people without someone in the crowd bringing up some story of their long lost friend who betrayed their trust, hurt their feelings, and crushed their soul so badly they just can't put their heart out there again. I think everyone has a story of a friend that either hurt them, or you just drifted apart when you thought you would be friends for life. Proverbs teaches us that as iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens his friend. We all like that verse. You hear it every time there is a push at church for a cell group meeting or some fellowship event. We all like that verse, until it starts happening in our lives. Iron doesn't sharpen iron by being gentle. The only way that iron will be sharpened if it is rubbed the wrong way. Relationships aren't always supposed to be gentle and comforting. Sometimes, a friend will tell you the truth when it hurts. Sometimes, they have this one little annoying trait that just drives you up the wall. Sometimes, they will let you down, breach your confidence, or hurt your feelings.  It's naive on our post to assume any different. Expecting to not be hurt in a relationship is holding your friend to a standard you won't even meet. If we are ever going to reap the benefits of relationships, we have to be willing to sow a little love and forgiveness when it is tough. Otherwise, you get so caught up in your own bitterness you lose sight of what matters. Here's the point: relationships aren't disposable. When you remember that people aren't a commodity you throw away when it doesn't suit you, and when you choose to focus on all the times they were there for you instead of the one they let you down, you set your self up to experience the benefits of friendship. Keep your focus in the right place and don't allow bitterness over your past steal the joy you could have in your present.

Community

I have become a huge fan of a sitcom on NBC called Community. For those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about, it stars Joel McHale who plays a former attorney who got disbarred because he faked his education, and now he has to start over in college. Except it's community college. He quickly forms an odd but absolutely hilarious friendship with a group of people in his Spanish class to study together and try to survive, but they quickly become so much more than a study group.

Like Joel McHale and his misfit friends, we all need somebody. I really don't know where we came up with this idea that isolation is godliness or that us and God is all we need. Neither is true. Let's go back to the Garden of Eden for a few moments. Adam was in the garden in perfect fellowship with his creator. Sin had not yet entered the world. Adam could walk with God in the cool of the day with no barrier between them. God looked down on Adam and made a startling statement. He said it was not good for man to be alone.

If God was all we needed, Eve would have never been created. Adam could have remained in perfect fellowship with God, but God knew we needed more. Even from creation, we were hard wired to need people in our lives. Community.

If you take cues on faith from monks secluded in some mountains I couldn't even spell, you are missing the best part of your life. Although there are times to be alone, God never intended for your life to be alone. Who are you doing life with? What role do friendships play in your life? 

Getting Started

I read a Twitter recently that struck me pretty hard. This guy, a published author, said that each day the internet is in existence it becomes harder to publish a book without a platform. Blogs create a platform where people read your stuff and decide whether or not you are good enough to merit additional time. His simple advice was to start a blog. That's what I'm doing.

I've had this blog for about a year and didn't use it, but now is time to take a leap and start blogging on a regular basis. Whether or not I'll have anything you want to hear is still to be determined, but it's a step.

We know from the Bible that the steps of the righteous man are ordered by God, not the leaps and jumps. So, I guess this is my baby step. Here we go.