More Than a Dim Cathedral

As summer is winding down and coming to an end for me, I am somewhat scrambling to finish up reading a few books before school starts. One is required reading for leadership and the other is one that my mom and I were sort of discussing together. Yesterday, as I was sitting at my desk, I was looking at the books on my shelf and decided to pull out a book to read just for fun…something that was not as much filled with theology but that was still profitable to my mind and thoughts. The book I chose was Shadow of the Almighty: The Life & Testament of Jim Elliot by his wife Elisabeth. Although I am only 3 chapters in, I am thoroughly enjoying it! I am already amazed and challenged reading about Jim’s dedication to serving our Lord and Savior at such a young age.

Two particular quotes stood out to me from what I read today. Because the quotes were separated by a few pages, I didn’t think they really had anything to do with each other at first, but as I was thinking about them more they seemed to coincide wonderfully. I also realized that they both attested to Jim’s perspective on living out the Gospel daily and his concern for “practical theology.” Here are the quotes:

“How wonderful to know that Christianity is more than a padded pew or a dim cathedral, but that it is a real, living, daily experience which goes on from grace to grace.” (p. 39)

“Where as soon as we hit a subject that has a need God can fill, we dive for our knees and tell Him about it. These are times I’ll remember about college when all the philosophy has slipped out memory’s back gate. God is still on His throne, we’re still on His footstool, and there’s only a knee’s distance between!” (p. 43)

While I know that it is important to have solid theology and to understand basic theological truths, I think some people get a little too carried away with being concerned with theological debates. Many Bible scholars and seminarians are so worried about being able to properly argue and articulate whether they believe in amillennialism or premillennialism or if there will be a rapture or not, etc, etc that they forget how to apply their knowledge to daily living. A lot of people have knowledge about the Bible and about theology but that knowledge never makes it out of their head to the their heart and to their feet for everyday life. One might question if that knowledge is truly real.

I love how Jim Elliot saw Christianity to be more than just going to church or philosophical knowledge that one possesses. Christianity is a lifestyle and something that is tangible and real; we live it out every day. Every new moment is a new opportunity to experience the grace of God. There will be a time when we will forget the academic training we have learned but even if we were to retain it for our entire lives what good would knowledge do us when we stand before the Lord? God could care less whether we have 5 years or just 5 days of Biblical training if we do not seek to use that knowledge to further our relationship with Him. He could care less about the knowledge we have; He cares about what we do with that knowledge and how we apply it to our lives. Jim Elliot knew the importance of actually living as a follower of Christ and not just knowing about how to live like a follower. He understood “practical theology” to the point that he was willing to risk his life for the sake of the Gospel. He wrote, “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.” Elliot understood that living for the Gospel and living out the Gospel was more important that just knowing the Gospel. His life truly demonstrated that.

I pray that I would be a follower of Christ who lives in such a way to give up those things that I cannot keep so that I might gain that which I can never lose.