In a recent conversation, I was contemplating a concept called “my theology”. To be honest, I am not sure what that even means.
It’s not that I do not understand the concept, it is that I am not totally sure how to describe it.
As I got out of bed and grabbed a cup of coffee, I thought that I might take a crack at it.
Here is what I know:
John 1 1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning.
Just as sure as Genesis 1 is the start of the Bible, John 1 is too. And some 2000 years ago, Jesus walked the earth with a common man. And this common man, John, wrote one of the greatest literary works of all time, and in it He claimed to be Jesus’ favorite.
John 3 14 Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up,
15 that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.”
16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
Jesus showed up in the night not too long after that to meet a Religious scholar named Nicodemus. And in one of the most incredible conversations in human history, Jesus connects to the Old Testament scriptures WHILE opening up a door for all of man kind, saying that God loves the world so much that He is going to give His only Son, who was with Him in the beginning, so that WE, you and I, will no longer have to be sitting ducks for Hell.
Luke 4 20 Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. 21 He began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”
Jesus then goes into the synagogue, reads a scripture from Isaiah, and then declares Himself God, surely setting Himself up to be killed. And in this activity, He breaks every political rule. He angers people in power, stops His day for people who are outcast, hangs out with unqualified and broken people, and lives out His days as a homeless itinerant preacher.
John 18 35 “Am I a Jew?” Pilate replied. “Your own people and chief priests handed you over to me. What is it you have done?”
36 Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place.”
37 “You are a king, then!” said Pilate.
Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.”
Jesus, is arrested, brought before a man named Pontius Pilate, and somehow avoids even defending Himself. He is exposed to an unfair trial and treated as a common criminal. Pilate KNOWS that He is not guilty, yet fears the repercussions of what that might cost him. And so he allows Him to be turned over to a mob that will beat, mock, accuse, and execute Him.
John 19 30 When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.
In His final action before dying, Jesus says something that translates to “it is paid in full”, a statement that business people use to say that a loan is paid. To many, it must have been a crazy last statement of a man taking His last breath.
But to me, it makes perfect sense.
Acts 16 29 The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas. 30 He then brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”
Not long after that, a man named Paul, who is traveling the region to punish, humiliate, and kill the followers of Jesus, changes teams. He converts. And in his conversion he has conversations like the one in Acts 16, where even his jailer can come and be saved.
To me, this is the craziest set of writings that I have ever read.
The most powerful man dies.
The King doesn’t rule, he submits to people who don’t have the ability to lead.
The champions of His story are former opponents who have converted.
None of it makes sense.
And yet, it does.
Our world is broken.
The people in it are broken.
The system is broken.
None of it makes any sense.
Until you read John, and then Ecclesiastes, and then Romans, and then Acts, and then …….
The reality is … it makes so much sense that I will chase it. And I certainly surrender to Jesus … He … is the greatest thing that has ever happened to me.
And that … is my theology.
In The Name of the Father and the
Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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Coach J
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