Bold Believers

Why does our theology, or what we believe of God, matter?

I have grown deeply in this concept over the last two decades and it’s something I’m really passionate about sharing. Certainly, no expert, but I have learned and realized that how I view God first, impacts everything. It impacts my closeness with Jesus. It impacts my understanding of scripture. My awareness and unity with the Holy Spirit. This then, impacts my daily decisions and actions. It impacts how righteous of a life I live. It impacts my marriage, my family, and my joy. Am I claiming that Jesus is the savior of the world, but not living each day surrendered to Him? Am I reading scripture that directs me to lead a holy life, and yet partying on the weekends, speaking profanity, or dressing provocatively? Am I thinking I am being led by the Lord, but I’m really just making my own decisions and not listening for the Holy Spirit to lead?

I think back to the days where I behaved this way. So many things were in turn damaged because I held a distorted view of God. I wasn’t surrendered to Jesus completely and therefore I wasn’t fully surrendered in my marriage. I didn’t have a full understanding of scripture so I didn’t understand that God wanted a deep, daily relationship with me. I didn’t understand the truth we have access to in God’s word. It is full of guidance and comfort! I didn’t hold the words of the Bible as high importance and therefore I lived how I wanted. I was still a “good” person, right? I’ve learned that being a “good” person, doesn’t come close to becoming a godly one. I ask myself often, is this just good or is the godly? The fruit of our lives will be evidence of how we view God.

Our view of God shapes our character, our morals, our behaviors, and our actions. Do you find yourself holding a low view of God? Do you claim “belief in Jesus or God” because that’s the ticket to Heaven… but your daily life does not prove evidence of God in your heart?

I believe so much of our daily struggle stems back to our theology of God. And I do not mean from a religious, legalistic perspective. Jesus came to break the chains of religion and laws of man. I mean from a relational perspective. How do we personally view God? What place does He hold in our heart? Is He the creator of everything? Are His words truth? Do we abide by his words, or dismiss them and create our own truths?

Do we view God in His right place? Is He holy, vast, faithful, unimaginable, infinite, mind-blowing, divine, and sovereign? Or is God a side dish we can pick up when we are going through something extra difficult?

A.W. Tozer wrote, “Wrong ideas about God are not only the fountain from which the polluted waters of idolatry flow; they are themselves idolatrous. The idolator simply imagines things about God and acts as if they were true.” How often to we see this play out in our generation? We pick and choose what we want to be true from the Bible and twist the rest until it feels nice. God’s truth is meant to offend us, to convict our hearts, and transform us to become more like Christ.

My hope is that this letter provokes some thought on how you might view God. Is He high and holy, in His right place? Or is our vision blurred, our truth twisted, and our hearts hardened?

I love that the Kingdom of God is so backwards. When we surrender our life to Jesus and obey God, instead of being chained down, we are SET FREE.