So after church this past Sunday I decided to hangout downtown and grab some lunch. I ended up in the mall just walking around. It’s one of those malls where only rich people actually buy anything. One of those malls that looks down on stores like the Gap… Well after I ate my Chinese food I wanted something sweet. Right about that time I walked by Godiva Chocolate and they were dipping macaroons the size of my fist into chocolate. So I obviously had to go in! I knew I couldn’t afford any of the boxes of chocolate but they sell the individual truffles so I thought yeah that’s in my price range. So I acted like I often bought chocolate from there and picked out three beautiful truffles. So the nice lady ringed me up. My total was almost eight dollars! That was more than my lunch cost. I was thinking like a three dollars or something! I honestly thought about running out of the store but I didn’t so I handed over my debit card. I am not above it though. (I walked into a restaurant the other day and their food looked terrible so I acted like I got a phone call and walked out) I then walked around Saks Fifth avenue and looked at Gucci pants while eating my Godiva truffles. I pretended I was rich for fifteen minutes. Then I walked to my car and past twelve homeless people.
For the first time in my life I am beginning to engage Theology. I mean I have been studying it for the past three years and now I am in Seminary but for the first time I am doing it on my own accord. I have been praying for the past few months that God would give me a desire for his Word and Theology. It’s happening. How about that? God answered a prayer. To bad it wasn’t the one about that money or that girl back in Tennessee. This is pretty good too.
Coming out of the School of Religion at Lee University still believing in God is quite an accomplishment. I don’t mean to make an overstatement here but I know a lot of people who started the program who really loved and followed Jesus but now they don’t believe it anymore. It makes me sad and even more than that it scares me. I am okay with my faith being challenged and shaped by my study but I refuse to let the deeper knowledge and study of my God push me away from the thing I am endeavoring to understand. I was reading one of the early church fathers on the Trinity the other day and Gregory of Nazianzus said this:
“Theology, while employing the mind, also involves the heart. A pure heart, one grounded in the worship of the church and a life of prayer, will produce clear and fruitful theological reflection. A murky heart and a dark mind, on the other hand, will produce a sick, thorny theology; it will offer no nourishment, only harm.”
That’s what I want, a pure heart that is grounded in a life of prayer and a life of worship. A high and holy task. May God give us peace and Clarity.
Grace & Peace
Currently Listening: Taylor Swift – Fearless (one of the best albums of 2008)
Ray LaMontagne – Gossip in the Grain
Viva La Hova – Jay-z and Coldplay
Currently Reading: The Mystery and Wonder of the Trinity – Christopher A. Hall
