Hello, Theologians!

Last Spring my wife and I were made the proud parents of our fifth child.  The location of this momentous event was not at the local hospital but the local courthouse.  We became the adoptive parents of a precious two year old boy.  I remember feeling the gravity of the occasion as the Judge officially pronounced the legal standing of our new relationship.  This little boy was now entitled to all the rights and privileges of our other children.  As I signed the legal paperwork, I mentally made the connection between this worldly adoption and the spiritual adoption of those that are in Christ Jesus.  As the adopted children of God, we are “heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ.” (Romans 8:17)  In that courtroom I was learning about the character of God.  This could also be called theology.

Theology is not only for stiff old men over a cup of coffee.  Theology is the study of God’s character and we participate in this activity often without even realizing it.  Far from being a remote field of study reserved only for churches and the halls of universities, theologians are found in hospitals and homes.  A mother struggling to keep patient with her rebellious child is amazed at the patience God has shown herself in comparison.  An artist that spends painstaking weeks perfecting a work finally stands back and holds a greater appreciation and understanding of God’s creative nature.  This hardly scratches the surface and I could go on, but you get the idea; theology is a very practical field of study. 

While we are all learning about God’s character every day – yes, even the atheist, though they are in denial – we rarely acknowledge that we are doing so.  Does it matter?  It does if you care about your spiritual growth.  If you are a disciple of Christ it most definitely matters since disciple means “learner.”  Some Christians consider it pious to be content with simply loving Jesus or staying with a “childlike faith” and avoid the rigorous study of God’s Word.  This, however, only denies them the opportunity to learn more about God, which runs contrary to the very character of a disciple of Christ.  Outside of God’s Word, self-help books often seek to guide individuals on a path of understanding oneself better, yet they often miss what should be the most obvious element in accomplishing their goal; studying the one that made them.

Studying God’s character is a great joy for me.  Theology took an already amazing experience like adopting a child and highlighted its greater meaning for me.  While the practical benefits are obvious, we should not forget that studying God’s character is also a duty.  Rather than hear this word “duty” as an arduous concept, consider God’s command here as an act of grace because our understanding of who we are in relation to God is a matter of eternal life and eternal death.