The Classrooms Where We Learn Theology
I’m always casting eyes about ‘cause I just want to figure out
If these waves can hold me, if they control me
Either way the bottom line is do I trust You every time You call me out of fear and doubt
Temptation pulls my ankles down and fear is why I’ll surely drown
Oh, if only I could hold Your gaze
Then I’d know You are stronger than the forces of my heart that seem to
Drive me down into the waves
— Hold Me Fast by Glenna Marshall
“It’s easier said than done.” Theology is easier to articulate in articles, books, and journals than it is lived out. It’s one thing to claim that God is sovereign, and it’s another to see him take away and find a way to praise his name. I can sing of the goodness of God when walking in the rose garden, but what about when I’m wandering the cold valley?
Learning theology comes in two parts. There’s the time in the classroom (or on the couch with a good book) and there’s the time of living it out. Theology isn’t something that only goes in our minds to make us smarter, but it’s meant to equip us for life. We put our theology into practice every day in the choices we make, the words we say, and the actions we take. If we believe the image of God resides in everyone, that should impact how we treat them. If we believe God changes the hearts of sinners, that will impact how we evangelize. If we believe God hates sin but is always ready to forgive his children, that will impact our repentance.
In Jen Wilkin’s book None Like Him, she asks her readers to think about three attributes they know to be true about God and how they know them to be true. My initial thoughts drifted to books I’ve read, classes I’ve attended, and sermons I’ve heard. But what about experience? I’ve attended seminars and listened speakers that recall an experience that taught them something true about God. What does that say about me? What is the right answer? I know these things to be true about God because the Bible tells them to be true—shouldn’t that be enough?
Later that day, still mulling this in my mind, I went home to discover I was miscarrying. The days and weeks that followed I was faced with taking the head knowledge I had and believing it.
Applying theology to my experience isn’t as fun as studying it. Defining God’s sovereignty is a lot easier than facing its reality in loss. Writing about God’s omnipresence is a lot more fun than praying through tears in my kitchen. Telling others about God’s faithfulness in the midst of their difficulty is a lot better than trying to believe that in the midst of my own grief.
Theology is learned in two classrooms. I need patience with myself and patience with others as we all sit through semesters of study and semesters of hands-on learning. Some of it will require flashcards and memorization, some will require weak prayers and being carried by the church. Sometimes we will be able to praise God for what we are learning, other times we will be begging for the faith to believe it.
Whichever classroom we’re in, we need patience, because theology is learned slowly in both. Let’s have patience with one another (and ourselves), speaking truth in gentleness. Let’s not forget what it took to come to the place we are now theologically, and have patience for others who aren’t quite there yet. And let’s encourage one another in what we all can proclaim to be true: Jesus Christ loves and saves sinful and theologically illiterate people through grace by faith in him alone. He stands by us faithfully, giving us the faith to believe both when we proclaim it strongly and when we struggle to hold on.
