Theology Enfleshed

2 Cor 4:6
For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

2 Cor 4:7
But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.

2 Cor 4:8
We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair;

2 Cor 4:9
Persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed;

2 Cor 4:10
Always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies.

2 Cor 4:11
For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh.

The pursuit of the knowledge of God is the greatest human endeavor possible. Theology is treasure. However, it doesn't stop there. When God gives His beloved knowledge of Himself and His ways, He then enfleshes this knowledge so that what the beloved knows becomes who and what he is. This is the painful part; the formation of Christ in the Christian is through affliction, persecution, and mortification.

In my own life, I am amazed that much of what I know theologically is still very much distinct from who and what I am. This gives me great sadness; O, how the Christian life is fraught with despair over sin and the painful process of sanctification. But I must not lose hope. The Lord is faithful. I will cling to Him like a child to his father, always mindful of the fact that to be His child is to suffer and die everyday.