I wanted to write something, but I don't know what I want to write. I suppose I could talk about a deep theological issue. I could ponder the doctrine of impassibility, that is, whether or not GOD has feelings and does indeed feel. When Scripture says that "GOD is jealous" or "GOD is angry", does it mean that GOD feels as we feel and that because there is a certain humanness in GOD, or does it mean that we are attempting in Calvin-esque "baby-talk" to define GOD in terms that are fallible because they are human? Is it the case that GOD feels in the scientific, chemical sense that we've reduced feeling to in our day? In our time it seems that we have a chemical impulse in the brain coinciding with every feeling known to man. Is feeling something that can be measured and observed, or is there something more to feeling than can be explained by scientific inquiry? These questions certainly will be pondered in a later blog, but nogt in this one.
I suppose I could consider the Calvinism vs. Arminianism argument (there is a problem in the title Calvinism vs. Arminianism; they are not mutually exclusive, and they both can be and are backed up by a plethora of Scriptural references). The previous statement in parentheses is the sum of my argument when considering Calvinism and Arminianism. We tend to assign an either/or relationship between the two doctrines, when really it should be a both/and relationship. GOD's choosing and our choosing of GOD are both in Scripture. GOD chooses who he wants to give the gift to, and we chose if we want to accept or deny the gift of GOD, that is, the salvation being offered by the death and resurrection of Christ.
I suppose I could consider the relationship between philosophy (the love of wisdom and the ancient study) and theology ("words about GOD" literally). Philosophy has been called "the handmaid of theology" by some early Christian writers. However, it today's time, it seems that most would seek to separate the two disciplines and view them as mutually exclusive. However, in my humble estimation, they are not mutually exclusive. Theological history is peppered with philosophical references and influences. Some wish to say the theology is the handmaid of philosophy, and that philosophy is the higher of the two disciplines. I would respond to that by asking what can be higher to consider than GOD, in all His splendor and glory? What greater studious discipline could there be than that discipline that seeks after GOD and yearns for an adequate knowledge of Him? When you find something more worthy of reverence, more worthy to be sought, more holy, more blameless, more pure, more infinite, more wise, you let me know, and we'll see just how holy it is. GOD is the only thing worth praising and seeking. He is the highest of all, the King of all Kings.
I could consider all these theological and philosophical concepts. I could write long, flowing, and eloquent lines of sentences concerning these topics. I could ponder them with all of my mind, and it would not be enough to save my wretched soul. These other ideas, these other lovers in my bed, pale in comparison to the One who satisfies my soul, who makes me whole again. I am a Jesus-lover, first and foremost: not a Calvinist, not an Arminianist, not a philosopher, not a theologian, not a writer, not a thinker. These things should be held in low regard compared to the glory of GOD the father. When I behold His glory, in all its fullness, I become aware of my painful, fallen, wretched state, yet at the same time I realize that the state that I am in is not the state that GOD wishes to leave me in. My philosophies and theologies die at the foot of the Cross, which is the ultimate manifestation of the love of GOD.
So, to you, the seeker and searcher for truth; you should look no further than the cross of Christ. In this pinnacle of history, the ultimate truth, the only consistent truth, comes to light; GOD loves you with every part of Himself and wishes to have a relationship with you, but this is not where this sentence ends. The reason why GOD so desperately loves you and desires to have an intimate relationship with you is so that His name may be glorified. I daresay that GOD's desire to have His name glorified is the ultimate motive behind everything GOD does, has done, and will do. Now, He still loves you, but He loves you because He knows that He is the best thing for you. There is nothing in this world that can satisfy save GOD. Please, sinner, I implore you to consider the love of GOD manifested in the cross of Christ! It is the only thing worth having, worth seeking, worth pondering, worth living for.
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