At 4-H horse camp when I in 7th grade, I was riding bareback down a
gravel hill when I fell off and got a little 'unhappy'. As I was
walking back to the barn this little girl innocently told me,
"Whenever you fall off you've got to just get back on again." Well,
it's been months since I've used this thing, and I'll give it a shot.
I've had quite a variety of topics I've wanted to write about in the
past few weeks, but I haven't found (or made) the time to do it. So,
maybe once in awhile I'll be able to write down a few thoughts. I'm
not sure why I want to share them with you all (assuming someone is
actually reading this). I think a big part of is because I typically
get a lot of out reading, or hearing, what other people have been
thinking about. Really writing it down also helps me to reflect on it.
So anyway, on to the important stuff...
I just started reading "Out of the Salt Shaker", which is a book Tim
has asked us to read this summer. I started it awhile ago, but petered
out after a week. I was reading again this afternoon and something I
read struck me. Five words, that's it. "His actions reflected
his theology."
This summer, God has been using two things to show me areas in my life
in which I need to grow: my job and my household. Maybe some other
time I'll talk more about that. "His actions reflected his theology."
The author of the book was talking about the Biblical story of the
priest who walked past the wounded and beaten Samaritan lying along
the roadside. She (the author) supposes that perhaps he was on his way
to the temple. His religion was more important than the man who needed
him. Now, that exactly isn't what convicted me. Here's what did: my
actions reflect my theology. The way I act and my attitude at work and
at home, and everywhere else, are a glimpse into what I really believe
in the core of my being. With that in mind, I see I have some work to do.
I'm not feeling guilty or anything like that. Well...okay, maybe just
a little. But I'm starting to realize that my theology needs a little
tweaking, because my actions and attitude do not reflect the nature of God, which
is what he desires of me. I'll never be 'perfect', but that's not what
he wants. God wants men and women who are like King David, who was a
man after God's own heart. David screwed up...a lot. Murder and
adultery, those are big ones. Yet the Bible still says David was a man
after God's own heart. God doesn't want perfect people, he wants
people to know him deeply and value what he does: people.
God probably has a whole lot of other things in mind too, but I won't
pretend to know it all, especially at 1 am, which is when I wrote
this. We all need to line our theology up with that of Jesus Christ, because
he got it. His actions reflected his theology, and he is a
perfect example of the nature of God. After all, he is the Son of God.
His instruction to us was, and still is, "follow me, do all that I commanded you, be like me."
Any thoughts?