When God doesn’t “Reconcile,” hit “Adjust”

Every month I balance my checking account on Quicken.  Well, I sort of balance my checking account.  I am usually within a hundred dollars one way or the other (except for last month and possibly the one before that…) and I have zero interest in getting down to the penny if I am that close.  When I am done, my computer informs me that I have failed to “Reconcile” and asks if I want to “Adjust.”  That means it will credit me or (almost always) dock me for my inability to reconcile and if a quick glance over my entries doesn’t instantly reveal the problem,(and it seldom does) I hit the “Adjust” icon every time.

There are many times I do the same in my relationship with God.  I have always considered “Systematic Theology” to be an oxymoron.  How could my understanding of the Creator of the Cosmos ever be systematic?  I do the best I can through the study of Scripture, prayer and with my limited understandings but then I have to trust God to “Adjust” what I cannot fully “Reconcile.”  If Christianity is a living relationship between an infinite God and a finite being (you and me for example), there are going to be a lot of things about God we won’t ever have our heads around.  Mature Christians don’t have to reconcile down to the penny at all; we simply have to continue to hunger for God as we adjust.  I think the Bible calls that faith…

-Rev. Shane L. Bishop, a Distinguished Evangelist of the United Methodist Church is the Senior Pastor at Christ Church in Fairview Heights, Illinois.