Christian growth can’t be defined by whom we don’t want to be like. It has to be defined by becoming like Jesus. It has to be rooted in relationship to him. And it has to be built on real, Bible-rooted conviction… I’m talking about a heart-level, settled belief before God that doesn’t change with our environment. Conviction is something we believe, not because someone is making us, not because we have to, but because we are convinced it’s what God would have us believe.
-Joshua Harris, Dug Down Deep, pg. 170
In the theme of digging down deep into theology, I wanted to share these bits from a FamilyLife Today broadcast with Barbara Rainey. They were aired soon after I’d read the first chapter of Dug Down Deep, and I couldn’t help but notice the (perhaps unwitting?) reference to Josh’s book title in the introduction to the program. Do take time to read the entire transcripts from both days: they contained many powerful reminders for this woman!
…theology is simply knowing God. It’s the study of God. It’s knowing who He is. …when we know who God is, we know how He thinks, we know what He does, we know why He does what He does. It’s the essence of a relationship. And when we’re studying God’s Word, we’re getting to know Him personally. We’re getting to know God and we’re developing a relationship with Him. So therefore, we understand better why He does what He does. We may not always know why He does what He does, but we can understand better. And I think we’re stronger.
…if we really aren’t in God’s Word, and we just have second-hand information, we’re living on somebody else’s insight or somebody else’s discovery. And that makes for wimpy theology, and it makes for a wimpy woman, too. I don’t want to be a wimpy woman. I want to be a strong woman. I want my strength to come from a one-on-one relationship with God.
“Wimpy theology makes wimpy women.”
-John Piper
