I was sitting in Theology class. And we were goin over Harmatology (doctrine of sin) Christology (doctrine of Christ) and Soteriology (docrtine of Salvation). And sometimes i feel like i sit in classes and don't really get anything new, deep or exciting out of it. And lately i've been full on knocking out for 20min naps with my head down (no1 seems to buy that i'm reading, lol.. Least i don't snore like this one guy, lol). Anyways... I asked my professor, "What is our personal relationship with Jesus?" Meaning what is His role. I usually hear God the Father speak to me and I turn to the Father in prayer. I see the role of the Holy Spirit in my life when I'm empowered, led, strengthened or convicted of sin. But exactly what does Jesus do personally in my relationship with Him? Yes the historical Jesus died on the cross as an atonement for my sins and is interceding for me at the right hand of the Father. Yes Jesus is the Lamb of God, King, Priest, Prophet, Vine, Shepherd, Teacher and Friend. But do i truly experience those roles in my own life? Do i really communicate or abide in Jesus?
I also wonder how Christ was separated from the trinity when God poured out His wrath on Jesus. It's kinda confusing since Christ who is God became sin for us. So.. how exactly did Christ take all the sin upon Himself, satisfy the wrath of God, and become forsaken during that time? God made Him who had no sin, to become sin for us. but God can't become sin.. right? i'm so confused! If Christ was separated, then wouldn't God become a duality (Father and Spirit) instead of a trinity? Which honestly doesn't make sense cuz God doesn't change in nature. Still kinda confused with the specifics. However, i guess it would be possible for Christ to have the dual nature of being fully man and fully God. And then having our sin imputed to His human nature, while still maintaining a divine relationship with the other persons of the trinity in His divine nature. But then.. i thought the consequence of sin is death for us spiritually too and not just physical. And then how exactly did Christ pay for all those sins. Can God pour wrath upon Himself?
Basically i realized i don't need to find all the answers for my questions. I usually end up with more questions and less answers. I realized that i should just enjoy attending a school with Christian teachers and classmates. It's actually quite a joy to hear your professor say, "Open your bibles to.." or "Let's open in prayer." Even if i don't get something radical out of every class, it's a joy to hear teachers proclaim God's Word and truth. I was listening to a worship song, and realized that it's not how much you know, or what you know, but who you know. Sometimes it takes genius to be simple. Sometimes we over complicate Christianity. We can easily turn it into our own religion.
The bottom line is actually quite simple. Simply come to Jesus. Run to the Father. Walk by the Spirit. Spend time with Him, dance in His freedom, worship, sing, rejoice and delight in Him. Receive His infinite love and grace. Obedience, repentance, holiness and the pursuit of knowledge will all follow from the motivation of encountering God's love. Receive with child-like trust and faith. Receive His blessing, so we can become a blessing to others. What a joy it is to have such a loving God.
2 comments:
Your thoughts today really spoke to me. It's so easy to make our religion more complex and intense than God intended for us. Then I thought of Matthew 6 where Jesus’ taught us to pray with simplicity and introduced the Lord’s Prayer.
(NIV) "7 And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. 9 This, then, is how you should pray:"
This passage in Matthew was indelibly stuck in my memory when I was 15. Our church choir sang a song based on verse 7, with a little of verse 8 thrown in. It was a really short song - only one verse ending with, (KJV) "for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking."
One of the choir members said the song was way too short, and had written a couple more verses to make it the "proper" length. A huge, heated discussion began. Then one of the older women stood up, got our attention, and sweetly sang the last line, changing only the last word. She smiled and sang, "for they think that they shall be heard for their much SINGING." and sat down, still smiling. We all "got it." The next Sunday, we sang the original short version and sat down. And all of us smiled.
Yesterday in class there was a rising argument between the professor and three students. There obviously was a lack of communication among them and their voices were raised and my other classmates and I began to cringe at some of the things said because ugh, it was just bad. Anyway, our other professor (we have two profs for this class) sat, watched, and listened, and then quietly pulled out his Bible. He waited till there was a pause and asked if he could read us a passage. What he read fit the argument and the situation perfectly and it was pretty cool because what God told his people back in the day is true to us and can be applied to things in our life today. Amazing. :) Oh, my comment got long. What you said about professors saying "Open your Bibles to..." and "Let's open in prayer" just reminded me of how much I love being able to study at an institution where people can say that!
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