Theology.
The study of God.
Is theology just a topic reserved for men? For men who are attending Seminary? Men who hope to go into full-time ministry? Men who are faithfully preaching from the pulpit each week?
Or is knowing God and studying His nature and character something that all Christians, man or woman, seminarian or not, should be devoting themselves to? Passionate about?
As a seminary wife, I ask myself, is theology a subject that is reserved for my husband?
The answer: No!
Theology is not just for certain people.
Read this beautiful truth from the book Practical Theology for Women (written by Wendy Alsup, pg. 26, my emphasis),
“If you know Christ as your Savior, you have the same Holy Spirit residing in your heart, the same Word of God at your fingertips, and the same access to the presence of God as the wisest and most godly spiritual leader you know of today. It’s a copout to leave the deep things of God to the pastors and seminary graduates when, in Christ, we have the same access to God that they do.”
Women, we need to realize that we are limiting our potential to further God’s kingdom when we limit our knowledge of the Creator and Lord of the universe!
What we believe about God and His character affects our daily life. Knowing God makes a difference in our lives. Our beliefs affect how we respond to the situations we are placed in throughout our day. How can we approach our circumstances and situations with a biblical worldview if we are not continually growing in our knowledge and passion for knowing who God is?
To live wisely in today’s world, we need to know God! We need to know who He is and what He has done. We also need to know what He is doing and what He is going to do!
Today’s world is unstable and quickly fading. We must know the truths of God and put them into practice day to day! Read what John Piper says about the Christian woman in reference to 1 Peter 3:1-7,
She knows her Bible, and she knows her theology of the sovereignty of God, and she knows his promise that he will be with her and help her strengthen her no matter what. This is the deep, unshakable root of Christian womanhood. And Peter makes it explicit in verse 5. He is not talking about just any women. He is talking about women with unshakable biblical roots in the sovereign goodness of God—holy women who hope in God.
To be holy women we must place our hope in God! To place our hope in God, we must know who He is! To place our hope in God, even in the face of trials and sufferings, we must know and live out our beliefs daily in every aspect of our life.
To live in this life as a Christian woman, I need to know theology.
As a homemaker, I take the responsibility of creating a place of refuge and security very seriously. I take on frequent opportunities to open our home to extended family and strangers alike. I want them to find love in our home. I want to give them comfort and rest. I want to serve them.
It is easy to be overwhelmed and weary by the, sometimes, mundane tasks of managing a home. However, we are building centers of evangelism, each one of us! We are creating, within our four walls, a place where our family and outsiders can come to find refreshment and nourishment and love!
How can I truly love others, through my home, if I don’t know the depths of the love that God has for me?
As a future parent, I have a great responsibility to train up my children and teach them the things of God. As parents, we have the unique opportunity to show our children what it looks like to live out your faith day by day, in public and private. Are you showing them daily that God is faithful? That God provides? That God is worthy of our trust?
When I am blessed with children, I want to raise them to know God. How can I teach them about who God is, if I, myself, do not know Him? How do I teach someone about what is means to be justified by faith alone, if I do not understand what that means? How do I show my children these truths if I do not live them out daily?
How can we teach our children the things of God if we do not know them ourselves?
As a wife, I am a partner in life with my husband and together we help each other to grow in godliness. I love the question that Gary Thomas poses about marriage, “What if God designed marriage to make us holy instead of happy?” What does this look like in real life?
When you and your husband are in the midst of an argument, are you quick to become bitter and harbor feelings of anger and resentment? Do you struggling with showing your husband respect, in public or private? Do you trust in your husband and more importantly, trust that God will guide him and direct him to lead you and your family?
How can we truly trust our husbands unless we truly trust God and know that His plans are for our ultimate good?
As a woman, when I am struggling with the aches and pains of this world, I can take comfort in knowing that God is my portion and my strength. It’s a difficult balance. It is facing the reality of suffering and struggles with your eyes focused on eternity. It means realizing that this world leaves us thirsting for more, thirsting for Him, thirsting for eternity.
This world is not our home. We are sojourners here. We have a day to look forward to when we will see Jesus face to face. One day, we will take our last breath here in this tainted world and our next breath will be our first breath in the presence of our Lord.
How can we keep our eyes on eternity if we don’t know the wonderful promises that God has given to us about our future glory?
Knowing God is important for all Christians.
Not only are we wives, mothers, homemakers…we are also theologians!
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