Learning Theology through Steward Group Duty

Theology that learned through book I think is only stop at head but not hands. Theology, I think, is best learned through the simple thing that we do in our daily lives. I remembered my first day in All Saints' Cathedral for practical, I asked one question "how can I learn theology through folding the bulletins?"

Last week was my steward group's turn to do our duty. I was so encourage by one of the members, saying that she is so happy whenever she saw the forks and spoons are so organized because she said that she knew that this person must have "use his heart" (transliteration from Chinese) or put in effort in doing this, and she said that in STM I'm the only person who does that. Then I gave a reason to her, how can we study Systematic Theology and we do not behave systematically? Through this act, I know that God is an organized God. Just look at how He plans for the Ark. Therefore, I always sigh when I saw the forks and spoons are in a mess!

Second thing that I can put my theology into practice during duty is that God is a God of grace or perhaps He is not a calculative God. If He is calculative, then all of us will live under His wrath! Even single thing that we do will be wrong even though we think that it is right. I say this because every meal in STM we seemed to have only 20mins to eat. After 20mins, second bell will ring and the door will be closed. I've observed that some people really so particular with the time because if many people are still eating then they can wash less. They are so calculative! I think the vision of our student body is not clear to the community here, "Sharing God's grace". I told my group members that they can ring the bell, BUT not close the door. Washing few more plates won't makes any difference after having washed all other plates! Don't be so calculative. Share the grace. I think we have to think like this: we have been served by five different steward groups and we serve for one week only. Compare the 5 times you receive and 1 time you give. Why do we need to be so calculative!

Theology affects methodology. How you treat people or how you behave affect your understanding about God.

James 2:18 But someone will say, "You have faith; I have deeds."

Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do.

Isaac

Ecclesiastes

I've been struggling through the Book of Ecclesiastes last two weeks. It is interesting to go through it and study it in details. Of course as I am writing this, I am writing with many regrets because I should insert this thoughts into my assignment. Anyway, I just want to share some of the thoughts that I got and some "enlightenment" to the difficulties that I've encountered when I was doing this assignment.

The Qoheleth started with a "big sigh", "vanity of vanities, says the Preacher, vanity of vanities! All is vanity"(1:2) and this question, "What does man gain by all the toil at which he toils under the sun" (1:3). And at the end of the book, he summarized it with this in 12:13, "Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man."

I am not quite satisfy with the conclusion that the Qoheleth made at the beginning because I couldn't understand it and accept it because just because everything is under God control, then he made this conclusion.

I've posted the question in FB and I got this answer, "If he dieth, he dieth a little wiser". At first I could not accept this answer because I was questioning that what is the point of being wise if you have died?

Keep on questioning really can help you to find an answer. I got some enlightenment when I questioned about the wise and the fool. I got this answer, "wise people will choose to fear God" even though there are a lot of unfairness in this world. I mean the fool are wise if the choose to fear God. The world define wise as not being stupid, but to be wise in God is to choose to fear him. With this answer I can understand why Qohetleth came to this conclusion even though the rich and the poor, the wise and the fool, the clean and unclean, those who offer sacrifice and those who didn't will come to the same end, DEATH!

After all, life is not really meaningless if we choose to Fear and Keep God's command. Notice, it is our whole duty as a man

Isaac

honoring elders

Good explanation from Enoch Lim



Isaac