GUEST BLOGGER: Theology Applied

NOTE: I have invited the contributions of Stu Reimer to write in this space on the issues of marriage and family. If you follow CRC at all you will know Stu to be my frequent substitute in the pulpit and I am looking forward to his work as my substitute from time to time in this space. Expect his blogs to appear every 6 weeks or so.

Stu is no expert on the things on which I have asked him to write (Just ask his wife and children), but he is a committed reformed Christian and a committed husband and father. His opinions are his own, but I trust that reading his blogs will bring much wisdom and offer much practical value as we try to maintain biblical faithfulness in our families while navigating a strange and contrary world.

Now, on to Stu.

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In case you were wondering (most likely you were not), I have not been cancelled and have kindly been offered the opportunity to continue contributing every so often. My first few blogs I submitted were more philosophical in nature using Scripture to deduce what a successful marriage looks like. I was upfront from the beginning and confessed I will not be writing as a pragmatist simply offering self-help advice to make our families run a little smoother and with less conflict.

So does this mean that I will have no practical help to offer our families but only discuss the theological realm? I sure hope not! Theology and practical application are not mutually exclusive. In fact, when theology is done right it must be applied and will have fruitful outcomes since it is based on the truth of God’s Word. I am positive that if my marriage was stripped of the theological truths I have come to understand, my marriage and family would not nearly deliver the joy that it has.

If you will, allow me to go back 13 years ago. I will take you to a time when I had a transformation from viewing my shallow understanding of theology as a virtue, to being pulled into a world of deeper thought. As providence would have it, only a year later I was introduced to my future wife and was married a year later. It was through this time that I encountered a lot of cynicism; “if you know what you need to know to be saved why spend time on all the other stuff?” Or, “people who dig too deep into theology become weird.”

It was also at this time I became more aware of the pessimistic view of marriage many around me shared. “Read all the books you want it will make no difference.” “It will seem easy at first but soon enough marriage becomes really hard”. Also the common, “there’s a reason the divorce rate is so high, and it’s just as high in the church”. Ten years later I can’t help but wonder; were all these negative outlooks the result of trying to achieve a joyful marriage through a pragmatic approach? I became interested in what the divorce rate would be if we didn’t simply survey church attenders but true gospel believers.

Though it’s definitely not been flawless I wondered why maintaining a healthy marriage actually has been uncomplicated and dare I say pretty easy. Due to stubbornness and my own sinful tendencies not every day has been bliss but it has never been difficult to diagnose both the problem and the cure. Was this because of my own righteous character? Far from it! I must continue going back to those beautiful doctrines that were revealed to me a decade earlier. The Scriptures revealing who God is and who we are have been a counselor far above all others. When people ask me what good a deeper dive into theology serves practically, exhibit A for me is marriage and the family. It is these rich doctrines that have been so practically applicable that I look forward to diving into over the next few months. What makes me even more excited; these doctrines are not only distinctively Christian, they are distinctive to the Reformed tradition. Reformed theology is often mischaracterized as serving no purpose outside of the study, when in fact by applying it to our marriages and families we should find amazing results.