Church IV

"Once we know so much about the Bible the danger is thinking that we have Him and walk with Him. This is the danger of every mature Christian." ~ Steve Brown

Steve said this on today's episode of his Key Life radio program. He hits on something I have thought about a lot for the past couple of years, particularly in reference to my seminary education. There is a great danger that I often fall into: confusing a love of knowledge about God for a love of God Himself. I sometimes feel like a man who knows a lot about a city he rarely goes to. Or, to use Steve's example, I am sometimes like a botanist who does not smell the flowers. Knowledge is necessary for personal experience but it is not sufficient for (it does not equal) personal experience. Being someone who loves academia, this is something I am constantly having to confess and ask that He help me to experience Him and increase my joy in Him, not just my joy in knowledge about Him.

I have written several times before here, here, and here about why I love the Church. This is another reason why I love the Church. Being a part of a local body, talking with them, fellowshipping with them, worshiping with them, and seeing the love of Christ in them reminds me of my tendency to treat God as a puzzle to be figured out and helps me to return to joy in Him, personally.

By His Grace,
Taylor