Lord, how great is our dilemma! In Thy Presence silence best becomes us, but love inflames our hearts and constrains us to speak. Were we to hold our peace the stones would cry out; yet if we speak, what shall we say? Teach us to know that we cannot know, for the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God. Let faith support us where reason fails, and we shall think because we believe, not in order that we may believe. (A.W. Tozer – The Knowledge of the Holy)
Recently, I’ve had two incredible opportunities. The first is that I have been reading The Knowledge of the Holy by A.W. Tozer. It’s a book that’s thin on pages, but thick on ‘blow your mind.’ The whole premise of the book is wrapped up in the quote above: that complete knowledge of the Holy is impossible, but our frail attempts and process of struggling with that knowledge is in itself a worthy pursuit. It is that pursuit in our lives that God cares most about. Not our happiness, not our goals, not our achievements….. our knowing Him is the point. That takes thinking. Deep thinking. Not thinking that attempts to rationalize God and therefore prove whether or not we should believe in him, but thinking that flows out of our belief in Him.
The second opportunity was at an internal leadership conference held at Word of Life for some of our staff. In that conference we had a particular session on theology that again…’blew my mind.’
Both of these experiences have consumed a lot of my brain bandwidth in the last several days. I’ve found myself uncontrollably meditating on who God is and how I can understand Him. I’ve found myself grasping for understanding of how God interacts with man and what our response to Him is. In the midst of one of these theological thinking rants, I realized something…. this is refreshing.
You know as well as me that it is very easy to get wrapped up in the urgent needs of life. All the more when it comes to youth ministry. If we’re not careful, 110% of our time can get taken up putting out all the fires in life. The latest youth statistics here, the biggest conference there, the most urgent crisis… you name it and it’s eating our time. It’s eating us.
How much time do you spend reading theology books? Like me, you might have to say, “Not much since I graduated college.” How much time do you spend meditating on God’s attributes? How much time do you spend stretching your mind and trying to know Him? (Phil. 3:10) Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying we should spend ALL our time sitting around thinking. I’m a man of action and I think we’re supposed to be. After all, God did leave us here on earth to DO something. We can ponder God’s character in eternity, but we will not be able to reach the lost and impact lives for eternity.
STILL, I think there’s a balance. Meditating on God, His Word and His attributes are the fuel that fires us. Without it, you’ll find yourself dry and shallow. Don’t be that guy. Don’t be afraid to GET YOUR THEOLOGY ON.
