Theology and the Presence of God
Theology engages in communion and seeks to know and be known by the Triune God.
C.S. Lewis, in A Grief Observed, poses the extraordinarily complex question: “But then why does He (God) seem so present, when to put it quite frankly, we don’t ask for Him?”[1] Why does God seem present with us when things are going well and why does He appear to be absent when we most need Him? This is a profound question that theology seeks to answer.
When considering theology, you need to consider more than the effects of theology on our thinking but also the impact of theology on our living. Theology narowly defined, is the study of God. But more carefully articulated, theology is the engagement of redeemed men and women with the Triune God. So what a proper study of theology teaches is how we can know God and be known by God. The more we engage God in communion with His Word, the more theological we become.
If that is the case, we know that the less we engage God and commune with His Word, the less theological we will be and the more susceptible we will become to heresy, apostasy, and sin. Theology is life: the good life or the life of misery.
The pursuit of good theology is not the art of expressing ideas and categories foreign to the common people, but theology is engaging God and man and living in harmony with God and man. When someone participates in profoundly unbiblical practices, they have developed a series of poor theological habits that lead to this or that ungodly act.
Bad theologians not only pollute the Church, but they can infect good theologians. When you sit in the seat of the bad theologian, you are opening yourself up to be indoctrinated by poor theology. The alternative comes from the Psalmist, who urges us to avoid the seat of the scornful but to sit in green pastures and bear fruit in due season.
Good theology provides the ability to operate in the presence of God in all that we do. The theological rewards come after a consistent and communal engagement with the Triune God. You cannot expect to grieve or love well without engaging the One who makes our suffering meaningful and our loving fulfilling.
[1] Lewis, C.S., A Grief Observed, Bantam Books,6 -1961.