Theological Musings

n the recent discussion about the conference we attended (Original or Not: The Last Twelve Verses of Mark), there were some questions in the comments about whether or not wrestling over the validity of a relatively small snippet of Scripture mattered. And in some ways, I would argue that it does matter.

But ultimately, like so many questions regarding theology, doctrine, canonicity, etc., we must realize that our major pursuit must be Jesus. It doesn’t matter how many of our theological ducks are lined up, or how fine-tuned our textual criticism skills are, or how much we know about church history, or what creeds we can recite, or what church roll our name is on, or what seminary we graduated from, or who endorses our books, or who reads our blogs — if we aren’t living the way Jesus told us to live, it means nothing.

We cannot afford to separate our life from our beliefs. Jesus calls us to a life that is far greater in scope than theological expertise.

Recently, one of the many blogs I read in my feed reader (and I wish I could remember which one so that I could tip the hat to them — if it’s someone reading this, please let me know, and I’ll give you credit) mentioned a recent interview with Tony Campolo.

OK, wait. I see some of you rolling your eyes. I know what you’re thinking, because I was always led to think that way about Campolo, too. Stop it! Let’s hear the guy out.

It’s about a 10 minute video, found here. And in it, Tony is sure to ruffle some feathers. But he made some pretty strong comments that I think we must reckon with and not dismiss so easily. For example, his concluding remark:

If your enemy hungers, feed him; if he’s sick, care for him; if he’s naked, clothe him. Its radical stuff, but until we start living the way Jesus has called us to live, we ought not to call ourselves followers of Jesus.

I don’t know about you, but that hits pretty hard in my book. Now, please don’t misunderstand me. I’m not endorsing every single thing that is said in this interview. (For example, there’s a bit of a misquote regarding Jesus’ statements regarding “An eye for an eye”. Jesus did not say that he was giving us “a new commandment.” However, Jesus did say, “But I say to you” which could be easily taken, then, as a commandment. And the point that Jesus was making is still quite valid, with or without the misquote by Campolo.)

But even without endorsing everything in it, I think there is much validity in what is being said. Another point that resonated with me was the following (perhaps not exactly quoted — it went by fast, and the host was jumping in at the time):

[On judgment day] its not going to be “Virgin Birth … strongly agree, somewhat agree…” Its gonna be “I was hungry, did you feed me? I was naked, did you clothe me? I was sick, did you care for me? I was an alien, did you take me in? … because I’m not up in the sky somewhere, I’m waiting to be loved in people who hurt.”

Now, I know the response I have received here on my blog before when I ventured into the areas of talking about what doctrinal points are absolutely necessary to agree on. But for those who have questioned me on this, I would pose this question: How do we view the words of Jesus in this regard? Why does Jesus seem to put so much emphasis on how we treat one another, and especially those less fortunate than we?

There’s a lot of talk these days in circles identifying with “the Emerging Church” (which I’m still not sure how much, if at all, I would be considered part of, or how much I even want to be considered a part of it) regarding being “missional”.

As far as I can tell (correct me if I’m wrong, emerging readers), “missional” refers to the concept of actually living out our faith in the world around us by seeking to meet needs, build relationships, and love the people around us. In short, it’s the idea of living the same way that Jesus taught us to live.

I’ve felt a lot along these lines for several years. I previously shared on this blog some thoughts about ways I used to reach out to homeless people in Austin, TX, when I lived there.

So what am I doing now? Well, one of the things in the works for Christy and me is a move toward being licensed for foster/adoptive care in our county.

We have no idea what this will lead to. We have heard reports from other foster parents (who have come to speak to the class we’re taking as part of the process) who have had over 50 kids go through their home in the years they have been fostering. I don’t know if that’s where we’ll be.

Our primary motivation for being licensed is a desire to adopt a young child. But we’re also seeing the possibilities of fostering and seeking God’s direction in that. If that’s what He wants us to do as we seek to live like Jesus, then I want to be completely on board with His plan!

Pray for us as we finish up the licensing process. We could be licensed by the early part of the summer, and from there, who knows what will happen?

All I know is that I want to live like Jesus. If I don’t, I agree with Campolo that I really have no right to call myself a follower of Jesus. Go watch the video and see what you think.

Until next time,

steve