KEEPING OUR FEET ON THE GROUND

                I have been attending a weekly men’s Bible study. We have been studying the book of Hebrews. Sometimes our discussions get pretty deep. This morning was one of those times. Our group is made up of men with a variety of backgrounds and a wide range of theological understanding. At times our discussion elevates to the rarified air of profound and often confusing theology. When this happens, I will often try to bring us back down to ground level. This morning, after the Bible study was over, one of the men stopped by my office and thanked me for putting things in simpler terms.

                When Jesus was teaching the crowds profound truths about the Kingdom of God, He used stories that they could all identify with. He took common situations and common objects and used them to illustrate deep theological truth. I am sure that the Pharisees, who loved arguing the subtler points of the Law, thought that Jesus was simplistic, but He was able to communicate on a level that common people would understand.

                I am a reader, and so I have read many books on theology and our faith.  Some of those books have left me cold. All that the author has to say is true, but he communicates it in a way that makes it confusing. It is as if we have something profound to say, we need to say it in the most complicated way possible. The books that I resonate with the most are those where the author relates theology to real life situations. In order for me to grasp abstract concepts, I need to see them in concrete terms.

                Years ago, in order to sharpen my skills as a communicator, I enrolled in a course on writing children’s books. One of the first lessons that I learned from that course was in my writing to show rather than tell. I can state a fact; the black cat entered the room. Or I can show my audience a black cat; the cat curled itself around the corner of the doorway and sauntered into the room. The sun played off of the sheen of its black coat as she padded her way toward her favorite chair.

                Just like in writing children’s stories, we need to learn to show people theological truth rather than just state the facts. One of the gifts that God has given to me is the ability to see theological truth in common things. When I preach, I am always looking for some way to connect the people to the truth in terms that they will comprehend. My role is not to impress people with the depth of my knowledge, but to instruct people in the truth of the Gospel. The less complicated I can make that the better.

                I just finished rereading a book by Larry Osborne titled “Spirituality for the Rest of Us.” In that book, he makes the case that we have made following Jesus more complicated than we need to. In our attempts at being spiritual, we have made discipleship more complex and confusing than it needs to be. We have raised the bar so high that few people will ever attain it. To paraphrase what Osborne is trying to tell us, we need to get our heads out of the clouds and keep our feet on the ground.

                I have run across a poem several times in my reading that has often challenged me. The essence of the poem is that we have a choice of how we will live out our faith. The author uses a door into a garden to illustrate his point. He speaks of those who, having walked through the door, venture as far into the garden as they can and as far from the door as they can. But he states that he prefers to stay by the door, to help others find their way into the garden.

                There is a place for deep theological study. There is value in venturing into that rarefied air. There is also the need for us to keep our feet on the ground, so that we can help others find their way.

1 Corinthians 2:1-5

    When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling. My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, so that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom, but on God's power.