FAITH CONNECTION – FARMERSVILLE UMC
Ministry Updates for Tuesday, August 4th 2020
He (Jesus) said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”
Reflection – Pillars of Faith – Theology – Part 2 of 4
In my seminary education there were four pillars: Biblical studies, theology, Christian History and, well, everything else. Today I would like to talk about Theology.
As much as I was excited to engage Biblical studies in seminary, I ended up taking more electives in Theology than in any other subject. I like logic. I like figuring out how the pieces fit together. I like going to the heart of the matter which is ‘Who is God?’
God, of course, is beyond comprehension. Imagine trying to understand the mind that created the universe, the oceans, the animals and such abstract concepts as love, faith and hope. Sometimes I do not even understand the people closest to me. So how could I expect to understand this God?
The power of the Christian faith is we get a picture of God. That picture is named Jesus. Through Jesus, we get to see what God is like. Reading the stories of Jesus, and maybe with the help of some divine revelation, we come to understand he was something more than human. For sure he bled, just like you and I do. But he was something more. He was both God and human.
The more we strive to understand the words and action of Jesus, the more we understand God. And what we know about God through watching Jesus is he loves us. He loves us so much he would lay down his life for us. And God raised him, because God loves him, and because God loves us.
For sure, there is a lot more ground to cover in the work of theology, but as Christians, this is our starting point.
Prayer
God of all creation, God of all people, God who was made manifest through Jesus, we give you thanks for your love. We understand that knowing people better helps us love them more. Help us learn to love you by knowing Jesus. We give you thanks that you strive to know our hearts and souls as we offer them to you in prayer. Today, let me share the love of Jesus with someone by doing something he did, even if it is simply taking the time to get to know someone better, so I can love more. Amen.