Why Another Blog!?!

You may have heard it said that you can read the same Bible verses at different times and learn a new thing each time.

Today while sitting in Church, I was wrestling with thoughts about God and how He is currently working in my life and the lives of my wife and children. It occurred to me why it is that we can learn different things from the same verses at different times.

As is true for each of us, the way we think at any given time in life is affected by the life experiences we are going through. Our perspective is altered by each test or experience that we gp through. And so, we may read a passage that we have read for years, and see a different aspect of that passage than we had noticed before. I am not suggesting that the meaning of the verses themselves changes. But, the specific problems we face during each season of life are like looking at the scenery with sunglasses with a little different tint, and that affects the aspect of the scenery that stands out to us. The scenery hasn't changed, but the colors that stand out to us are altered by the filter before our eyes.

One example of this that I have personally experienced is that God stretched my understanding of "the valley of the shadow of death" after my first wife passed away. I had always heard of that passage from the perspective of the person who walked close to or through death. Yes, David was talking about his own experiences and his own life. But, when one of our loved ones goes into that valley, we go into that valley with him or her. I can think of no better description of that dark grief that I experienced than the Psalmist's words "the valley of the shadow of death". And so, because of the path that my life took, my understanding of that passage of scripture was altered or expanded. I should be quick to add that God was indeed faithful to walk through that valley with me, and I can now look back and see His gentle, tender love for my children and me through that valley.

Another example, much more current for me, are Paul's words "I have learned in whatsoever state I am therewith to be content" (Ephesians 4:11). These words mean one thing when one is on a fixed (and reliable) paycheck. Those same words come to mean something entirely different when one has lost his job -- as I have. It is easy to be "content" when we have so much more than our mere needs. These words could become quite scary (humanly speaking) if God sees fit to test the limits of my "contentment" -- or maybe to teach me that there should be no limits. Contentment is fundamentally about trust -- trust in His promises to provide for my needs. The key word being "needs"...

And so, life is God's way of making our theology become real -- it is where the rubber meets the road, so to speak. It is like the sculptor who takes the partially finished sculpture, and decides what chisel is required to refine that next feature. So, God has carefully chosen the next events of my life to teach me and shape me as He desires. It might be trying or testing my faith, or it might be teaching me just a little more humility or unconditional love. It may also be to work through me in someone else's life, as Paul talks of his imprisonment leading to spreading the Gospel in ways and in places that he otherwise could not have reached (Philippians 1:12-14).

So, today, I decided to begin a blog relating some of those events and trials in my life that God is using to make my theology just a little more real.

Lord, make yourself more real to me today through the trials you are bringing me through.
Help me give you the praise and glory for both the trial and the results of that trial -- even before you have brought me through it... (James 1:2-4)

This blog is dedicated to the daily experiences that God is using to form my own personal Theology. It does not have to be public. It is enough for my life to be altered in a very private and personal way. However, I would like to allow my own personal spiritual growth to encourage others who may be going through their own life challenges, and who are having God challenge and develop their own understanding of Himself -- their own Theology.