During a particularly dark time in my life I picked up a CD by some guy I had never heard of before, his name was Steve Camp. It was God's providence that I picked up this CD. Several of the songs pierced my heart. I remember pulling out the jacket of the CD to read the lyrics. Do you do that? Do you get so moved hearing a song that you want to know more about it right away? I do. This song, The Great American Novel, had me transfixed. When I saw that Larry Norman had written it, it was especially touching for me. I grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area, a child of the 60's and I remembered him from my "Jesus Freak" days. I understand that Larry went to be with Jesus yesterday. His best work has just begun.
I was recently asked why I read theology and follow theological debates. "It's all just words and opinions." Words. Words on a paper, words on a blog. Words that travel invisibly through our airwaves and our minds. What would our inner monologue consist of without words? Harsh words, gentle words, untrue words, and solid you-can-die-behind them words. They have secret lives in the depths of our souls. They overflow in torrents of grief and joy. They seep out of our character flaws, wearing down the weak convictions that hold them back until they contaminate all those around us. All of us are stained within and without by the raw sewage of unkind words. Our souls are in jeopardy for want of The Word. Jesus Christ. The Gospel. The Good News. Words matter. Doctrine matters. Theology Matters. What you win them with is what you win them to. I study theology because I was lost too long in a world that scrambles truth with its own ideas and preferences. I was fed a diet of tosse
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