September 18
September 18
A discernible and dangerous gap often lies between our formal theology and our functional theology.
If you are familiar with the many stories that God has preserved for you, then you are blessed. It means that God has placed you where you have been exposed to and taught by his word. By his grace, you have heard of his work on behalf of his people again and again, so much so that you know the people and places without having to open up your Bible. Millions of people around the world have never held the Bible in their hands, let alone become so familiar with it that its narrative is embedded in their memory. But there can be a problem with familiarity. Sometimes when we become familiar with something, we get lazy and we quit looking and listening. Luella is an art consultant; she sources and places beautiful pieces of art in her clients’ homes and offices. Because of her work, the loft we live in is an art gallery. Wonderful paintings and sculptures are all around us. People who come to our loft are taken aback by all of the art and are often full of questions. But I have a confession to make. I have lived with this art for so long that some days I don’t look at it or celebrate the environment that I am blessed to live and work in each day of my life.
The story of the prophet Jonah is one of the most familiar stories in all of Scripture. I was a young boy when I first heard the story of Jonah and the “whale.” I have heard that story a thousand times. Because of our familiarity, I am afraid that many of us have quit digging in to this story for gospel insight and wisdom. So here I want to alert you to one thing in the Jonah story that you may have missed.
Jonah says no to God’s call to go to Nineveh and preach judgment, and he hops on a boat going in the other direction. God sends a storm, because he is not done with Jonah. The sailors on the boat are searching for a cause for the storm, and they encounter sleeping Jonah. They wake him, cast lots that fall on Jonah, and ask him who he is. He says, “I am a Hebrew, and I fear the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land” (Jonah 1:9). Jonah makes this formal and cultural confession of belief, which does not depict his functional theology at all. He says he fears the Lord, but he has no problem saying no to God and running away from his call. There seems to be little life-shaping fear of God in this man. His life simply does not depict who he says he is and what he says he believes.
Be warned today. The enemy of your soul will cede you your formal theology if he can control your heart. Pray today for the grace that alone can empower you to live out, at street level, what you say you believe.