Im not sure why it is, but every time I meet a Christian who is obsessed with theology, my spirit rolls its eyes. Something about that statement absolutely stupefies me. I have no doubt it’s me who’s to blame. Im not very holy. I daily border on the corner of irreverent and impatient. I am an admitted ragamuffin who’s untidiness makes it difficult to shuffle along from one day to the next. Theology has little tolerance for untidiness. Theology has no patience for loose ends.
Now I enjoy a good book every now and again that shows us a new aspect of God. I applaud authors who can take old scriptures and make them burst from the page. But in my short Christian life, most of the people who are excessively passionate about theology are like those who arrive at the theatre and miss the show.
I liken such individuals to my third grade English teacher, Ms. Mimms. I remember three things about Ms. Mimms. She had incredibly oily black skin and she spit when she spoke. The third thing I remember is that she was a by-the-book grammatical teacher. Ms. Mimms was very memorable to me because she helped me understand proper grammar and sentence construction. Most of what I know about grammar today is based on the exercises she taught me so long ago. Ms. Mimms taught me how to put a sentence together, but she couldn’t teach me how to make it memorable. With what she showed me, I was able to construct a story, but she did not teach me how to give it meaning. The only thing she could offer me was structure, but she could not take me to beauty. Good writing transcends grammar, transcends rules. It sends you to a new world, where images are turned inside out, rules are often broken, and sends you diving into a new experience.
Theology is a system that can help create meaning, but it is no end in itself. I believe truth is a person, and that person is Jesus. He dies again and again when he is dissected and put into jars. Though we appear to “understand” Him better, we are just looking at parts soaked in formaldehyde. He is alive. He is breathing. He is pursuing us and I want an encounter. I want to continuously experience Him on a human level. A level of true living and spiritual grandeur. I want to walk with Him in His kingdom on earth, and be His princess. I want to wear a crown and my favorite socks with the faded stripes and the hole in the middle. I want the freedom to experience His kingdom on earth, the perseverance to pursue justice and conquer violent oppression. I want more than grammar, more than words on a page. I want my life to write a significant and meaningful story of wanting Him, and wanting to want nothing else.
Im sure this won’t sit well with those of you who are learned scholars; those who are able to lose themselves in the abundant mysteries of God. I applaud people who are impassioned with their academic interest. There is indeed much to be gained from such knowledge. I think there is a subtle beauty in the tireless pursuit to study God. I also know in that beauty is a mess of arrogance and pride, ready and waiting to devour. God isn’t a punch line in an argument; can’t be diminished to a rebuttal in a debate. He is the period at the end of it all.
