God....and theology

A friend stops at the barn to chat from time to time. He is an older gentleman and I enjoy his perspective on life. Our converstations cover a wide range of topics - weather, hunting, sex, God, local events, farming, and life in general. He is what most church people would class as a heathen. Church holds no interest for him, through the years he has seen too much.

When our conversations turn toward God, I am invariably amazed at his grasp and understanding of God and who He is. How can that be? A man outside the framework of organized religion perhaps understanding God better than those who are well educated in the scriptures?

As I reflected on our conversations, my mind wandered through the pages of scriptures, pausing at two similar examples in the life of Jesus. A gentile woman, one who would have been despised by those within the confines of the accepted religious framework, experienced the fulness of Jesus' ministry. A Roman Centurian, a member of the evil occupying military force, caused Jesus to marvel at the depth of his faith. His was a faith so great that Jesus proclaimed that He found no greater faith in all of God's chosen people.

Where did these two unlikely individuals receive their understanding of God and God With Us? What has shaped the theology of my friend in a manner that allows him to see God for who He really is? It was probably not in a classroom or at the feet of a noted scholar. Might it be that being created in the image of God allows us to clearly see Him for who He really is?

And might it be that the theology we have been given from our religious traditions actually clouds our vision? I am convinced that most of our theological tenets are shaped more by our intellectual endeavors than by the scriptures. We believe something and then search the scriptures to find supporting evidence that we can cite in putting forth our beliefs. The Pharisees of Jesus' day were versed in scripture and theology. Yet they largely missed the work of God in their midst.

Might it be that our intellectual theology framework disconnects us from the image of God within us in a manner that causes us to miss Him completely?

the voice of a curse

Two weeks ago Bev and I, along with her parents, made a trip to Clemson SC for a special graduation ceremony. After much hard work, Justin graduated from Clemson University with his PhD. An opportunity with a Danish University caused him to speed up this graduate work. Unfortunately, the Danish opportunity did not fully develop so he will stay at Clemson for the next semester working as a guest lecturer.

At the graduation ceremony, Justin mentioned that Dr. Taylor wanted to meet Bev and I. We discovered that Dr. Taylor was the head of the math department at Clemson. Immediately after the ceremony, Justin introduced us to him. We found Dr. Taylor to be an engaging gentleman, the epitome of a "southern gentleman". In our conversation converstation he expressed a bit of disappointment that the opportunity in Denmark never fully evolved for Justin. However, he was also quick to express delight that in the upcoming semester Justin would be part of the Clemson faculty. His exact words to me were "Justin is a very good teacher".

I had lots of time to ponder his words on the 500 mile trip back to Pennsylvania. My thoughts wandered back to a summer morning a number of years ago. I sat across the table from a man who had been instrumental in Justin's spiritual formation. At the time, I was concerned for my friend. I sensed him disconnecting from God. Instead of oneness with his Creator, he was choosing to find worth and fulfillment in the seduction of ministry.

We talked about Justin that morning. I mentioned that Justin wanted to teach either at the high school or college level. I was stunned beyond words when he laughed sarcastically at the mention of Justin teaching. In his opinion Justin was too excitable to teach well. I could  not believe the words I was hearing. Words directly from the enemy, words that cursed Justin and his God-given destiny and dreams. I was dumbfounded. How could a person who professed to be interested in bringing people to the place of their God-given destiny speak so negatively of Justin's heart? At that point I knew that my friend had completely disconnected from God.

As these thoughts swirled through my mind, the curse words falling empty against the voice of God heard through Dr. Taylor, two words came to mind for the voice of the enemy and the speaker of those words  - F**k you!