Reminder 'Round the Ressurection

Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit.

- Psalm 51.11-12

I have spoken with many seminary students. When we get honest with one another about seminary and our spiritual lives one thing continues to be discussed: Maintaining a faithful devotional live is a lot harder now that we are in seminary than it was before. I have narrowed it down to two or three contributing factors and one major correlation.

The Bible is not a textbook and was never meant to be read for theology alone. Hang in there with me. This is something that my friend Aaron pointed out recently. Theology in general and Scripture in particular exist for the purpose of changing lives for the glory of God...not to puff one up with knowledge. Seminary makes Scripture a textbook. We would do well to be reminded of the fact that it's not.

Now, I am in seminary. So I obviously agree with the system. By no means do I think that it is the best system, however. Scripture teaches discipleship and mentoring in the local church as the method of training up ministers. This is the root of the issue. Scripture/theology was intended to be taught to one currently ministering by a more sanctified one currently ministering. Doing ministry together...one lifestyle teaching another. In the Bible it is impossible to separate theology from daily life.

Well, seminary does separate the two. Many professors do well making their classes practical and are out there ministering while they are profs. However, the dividing line is still thick. When a student learns so much knowledge about God in such a little time, the heart has a hard time keeping up. And my heart is slow.

May our love for God outshine our love for theology.

My strong recommendation to seminary students is this small book (pamphlet...really) that Dr. Greg Allison also recommends: A Little Exercise for Young Theologians.

The correlation lies in this: theology without practical application = bad. So perhaps it's not just a correlation. There is a direct relationship. Pride is an issue here. But more than that I think, is the absence of joy. The subtle joy of knowing that your eternal soul is secure is there. But the pure pleasure of knowing Christ is missing sometimes. The "surpassing worth" of Philippians 3.8 is faint. The comforting and empowering voice of the Shepard is distant. You become desensitized to life-changing truth and God's work in people's lives.

My mom recently experienced some trouble at work from her employer. This situation shook her up. Little did I know that it would rock my world. When I discovered the situation and how helpless I was to my own mom, I did what I had to do: I prayed. I wept bitterly. I haven't felt closer to God in years. Horrible situation, yes, but God used it to draw me close to Himself. The stress and pain turned to rejoicing recently when Mom told me that she was no longer worried because she was trusting God with the whole thing. The situation at work remains. But my prayer was answered...my mom ran to her Savior.

A mentor of mine some years ago once told me how he had similarly become desensitized. He said that it was when he began listening to the Bible being read aloud on tape that God gave him back his tears.

May this Easter season bring the joy of knowing Christ to your life. For the Lamb of God who was slain rose again that third day and will come swiftly as the King of Kings to reign triumphantly. May He give you back your tears.