I was introduced to Theology as the study of God in my religious studies class in secondary school many years ago. And I immediately thought that that’s what people who had a vocational calling to ministry as teachers, preachers or missionaries went on to study in university.
My local church in Brussels was affiliated with a theological college so we occasionally had professors and lecturers teaching in Sunday services or inviting people to consider studying Theology at the college. In my church community, it was quite common to hear that whilst studying Theology was a great vocational venture, it could make or break your faith. The reason behind the thought was that Theology students were challenged to deeply think about the tenets of the Christian faith often beyond what was taught in Sunday services. They could choose to lean in even deeper into God or sadly decide to leave the faith. That was very scary to hear.
By the grace of God, I took on a ‘glass half-full’ perspective. I decided to hope and believe that if I was to embark on the journey of studying Theology, it would be a transformative experience and God would keep me in the faith.
Whilst I did not go on to study Theology in university (I studied Psychology), I have had the privilege of sitting in incredible Bible studies for many years and they have greatly impacted my walk with God and my view of Theology. Although I was raised in a Christian home and knew Jesus from childhood, it was in Bible studies in my late teens that I had a different encounter with Him and rediscovered the truth of the Gospel –the Good News of salvation. It changed everything and with that a ferocious hunger to keep getting to know Him and His Word developed in me. I totally gave in.
One doctrine (among many) that has consistently that stood out to me in Bible study is the teaching on Imagio Dei, namely that as human beings we were created in the image of God. This means that God has created us for relationship with Him and with one another to reflect His attributes and activities here on Earth in the way we look after His creation and in how we do life with one another (Genesis 1:26-31). As such, this also implies that as His image bearers, every human being have got be ‘theologians’ or students of God, if our purpose is to reflect who He is and what He does.
In Genesis 3, however, the Bible also teaches that mankind sinned against God and chose to live life without Him. As a result, we were cut off from a right relationship with Him; we became sinners and death entered this world. Another devastating consequence of sin is that our ability to reflect His wonderful image became compromised. But thankfully, God, in His great grace and kindness toward us became one of us and lived among us in the Person of Jesus-Christ. In His life and death and resurrection, Jesus demonstrated that He was the Imagio Dei we had failed to be (Colossians 1:15-17). When He died on the cross, He carried in His body the consequence of our rebellion against God and fully forgave us so we could come back to a right relationship with Him, be restored and have eternal life. This is the Gospel of Jesus-Christ.
The truth of the Gospel is extremely encouraging and empowering in a life-changing way.It is encouraging because it essentially means that in Christ, anybody has access to God and the hope of complete restoration (Ephesians 4:11-12, Romans 8:19-25). It is also empowering because it implies that everyone can know God and therefore study Theology regardless of life aspiration and vocation.
My encounter with Christ at 18 years old led me to this glorious conclusion: God wants to be known by everyone through Jesus. He also wants to restore His wonderful image in us by the power of His Spirit. And Theology in all its breadth is a means to that glorious end.