Pizza Absolutes:
There are at least three things in my mind that make up a pizza: dough, sauce and cheese. These are absolutes. You must have them or you do not have a pizza. We can debate over, types of cheese, amount of sauce and even over thick or thin dough, but we cannot argue over whether we need these three things to make up a pizza. If there is dough and cheese but no sauce, it’s called cheesy bread. If you have dough and sauce but no cheese, you have, well; I don’t know what you have. If you have sauce and cheese but no bread, you have a mess. All three ingredients are necessary to constitute pizza.
In the same manner, there are necessities when it comes to theology and our understanding of God. First, we must acknowledge that there is a God and only one God. If we deny the existence of God then we have nothing. We are simply left to our own devices when it comes to morality, thought, origins and eternity. I have nothing in common with that individual except we are both human. My depth of fellowship is limited because we have very little in common since we approach life from very different starting points. That does not mean I hate, despise or reject them. It simply means that our relationship will have limits.
The second necessity is understanding that God is actively involved in our world, past, present and future. I must believe that God is not above, beyond or absent from our world. God created, sustained, holds together, dwelt among us, is presently working and will reveal Himself to all in a glorious moment in the future. If I reject this idea, then we lose a vital aspect to our relationship because all that I value is based on these important truths.
Finally, I must understand that God has come to redeem us through His Son, Jesus Christ. More on this necessity in my next blog. Pizza is not pizza without dough, sauce and cheese. If you fail in having any of these items you fail in having pizza. If you don’t believe in God, believe that He is among us working and that Jesus has secured our redemption, then we will have limited community because all that I am is driven by these three elements. Once again, if you have thoughts or questions I would love to hear from you.
