Loosen Your Grip

It’s been a while I see since I blogged (that’s just a weird thing for me to write). And part of me feels guilty. I’ve been blogging (if that’s even a thing) since the lockdowns began because it seemed a good way to keep in touch with people I couldn’t see, or be with. That’s another way of saying I felt I ought to do something for people in the church during lockdown, because, let’s be honest, they’d never survive without some words from their minister! I hoped some words would, in truth, be helpful. And maybe they were. But once you start something, it can be hard to stop. Or rather, in may case, I’d feel a little guilty if I stopped! Which says more about me than anything. I know that. And yet, here I am. Still blogging. Just! Thing is, it’s hard to keep coming up with smart things to say. Or clever things to say. Or words of wisdom. Or sound theology in an ever changing world. Or things people might find interesting when there are so many other things to read. And it’s not that I have millions of followers, at least not that I’m aware of. I’ve probably had as many people tell me they don’t read these blogs as people tell me they do! Sobering. And, lurking behind the writing of blogs, is the question: what if I’m wrong? What if I’m wrong and I’ve written it in a blog? That’s a good question to ask but a hard question answer. And I’ve been reading and learning about this very thing: being wrong. Or rather, being right! Because that’s what we’re obsessed with: being right. That’s what the Pharisees were obsessed with: right theology. And they, of course, were the protectors of right theology. I was once in a seminar with R.T. Kendall who was asked what the “R.T.” stood for. He thought for a moment, and then said: “Right Theology!” While there as a little glint in his eye, he was convinced of his theology! But “right theology” is something Jesus seems to challenge. He certainly challenged the Pharisees. And maybe he challenges us. By now, I suspect some of you are worried Ian doesn’t care about theology - you can believe whatever you want! Well, if you think about it, that’s true. You can believe whatever you want to believe. That’s your choice, not mine. Jesus, it seems to me, isn’t challenging the idea that we might believe different things. What he challenges is how we hold our different beliefs, our different understanding of theology. What Jesus and the Kingdom of the Heavens leads us towards, is living in love. And in the Kingdom of the Heavens, love trumps truth. Jesus said, “He makes the sun rise on both the evil and the good and sends rain on both the righteous and the unrighteous.” (Mat. 5:45) God it seems doesn’t judge whether someone is “right” before he sends the sun and the rain. He makes absolutely no distinction. This challenges me. I like to be right. I like to get my theology right. I’m a preacher and I want to teach what is right. And, for the record, I work very hard to say what I mean, not what I think people might want me to say. But here’s the crux: I’m learning that I might be wrong! And I’m also learning that maybe that’s a better way to be in the Kingdom of the heavens, because it means I’m moving closer to be able to love people, rather than judge them. So, I’m trying to loosen my grip on the theology thing, so that I can move towards love. The story of the Bible, the story of the Christian faith, is that Love Wins.