Avoiding the Rut Problem

“A rut is a grave with the ends kicked out.”  Ruts keep us from seeing things from a wider angle with little hope of breaking out of normalcy.   Ruts place us in a perpetual tunnel vision.  They are the death of aliveness.

Ruts happen in the church.  We find authors and teachers that represent our “position” and dub them our official communicators.  We turn to them to discover what we are supposed to believe.  They give a precise, coherent, well articulated understanding, but they can also limit our ability to see things from a fresh perspective.

When it comes to pursuing our understanding of God there is no room for ruts.  Contemplating infiniteness requires more than one “position” can bring to the discussion.  It requires a look from different angles much like looking at a diamond.  There are a multitude of angles with each giving a different sparkle, a richer color, a fuller clarity, a greater appreciation.  

Community provides these out of the rut insights.  While laid solidly on a foundation of biblical truth each individual brings unique study, distinct perspective and personal experience that enriches our understanding of the Gospel.

Other cultures also bring a fresh perception to our biblical understanding.  Much of the Christian world today is not North American western.  We need the humility to become learners from our African, Chinese, Latin American brothers and sisters.  Cultural diversity in the church gives us a new lens through which to understand God. 

Can I go out on the limb and say that we can benefit from a wide range of denominational viewpoints as well?   We get our theological understanding by the questions we ask the Scripture.  Nobody and no one group can ask all the questions or have all the answers.  Which of course means that no one’s perspective or theology is complete (not even our own).  Surely then there is much good and godly insight to be gleaned from the universal church with the Holy Spirit as our safeguard.     

In welcoming the diversity of community, culture and the church we avoid the rut problem that so easily becomes a grave to growth.