Theology of the Ditch
“What man is there among you who has a sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will he not take hold of it an lift it out?” Matthew 12:11
Pit – Jesus gave us the proper perspective on theology when he asked the Pharisees about the fate of an animal that had fallen into a pit. The purpose of theology is not to explain how the animal fell into its pitiful state. The purpose of theology is to get the animal out of the condition it is in. As my good friends in AA will quickly remind us, “It doesn’t matter how you got into the ditch. It only matters that you get out.” Christianity is ditch theology. It is designed to rescue you from the pitiful state of a broken relationship with God. It is not designed to explain how you got into such a pitiful state. It simply assumes that you are already in the ditch. Now you need rescue!
Therefore, you won’t find an explanation for the origin of evil in the Scriptures. Neither will you find a carefully worked-out rational for issues like the Trinity, the incarnation, the end of the world, election, predestination or a host of other theologically knotty problems. Of course, you will find some information about these things. After all, ditches exist. But the major themes of Scripture, and the place where the Word of God is most clearly effective, is not in these areas. It is rather in extracting us from misery. God’s Word gets us out of the ditch. When you find yourself contemplating the nature of the ditch, the size of the ditch, the angle of its walls or the texture of the mud, you are probably in need of a therapist, not a theologian. The purpose of God’s Word is rescue and restoration, not eloquent explanation of extraneous information. Maybe that’s why theology is so difficult. It’s like trying to decipher a mechanical blueprint for an automobile engine from a driver’s manual. There’s just not enough information available. If you want to understand the Biblical perspective, you must first realize that you need rescue. You need to get out of the ditch. But once you are out, you need a guidebook that will help you avoid stepping into the next ditch along the road. What is the point of being pulled from one pit only to fall into another? Once rescued, you and I need instructions for avoiding further catastrophes. We find precisely such directions in the Bible. Since God designed the universe, He is quite familiar with its layout. He willingly tells us how to navigate in this world. He explains the location of pitfalls and the procedures for dealing with them. It isn’t always the way we would do it, but, then God isn’t the one who needs rescue, is He? The best course of action is to listen to the one who is not in the ditch.
Biblical instruction is ultimately practical application. There is no point in explaining the nature of rescue and the process of ditch-avoidance if you and I aren’t going to put the advice into action. That’s why so much of the Bible is filled with rules for living and stories about people who followed (or didn’t follow) the rules. It’s not legalism. It’s simply avoiding ditches. Today is an excellent day not to end up in the mud. If your theology is any good at all, it will keep you high and dry. If it isn’t, you probably need a bath before you visit the shrink.
Topic: Rescue, Redemption
