Christian Living. Theoretical or Faith?

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Should we constantly second guess our past decisions?

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Stay with me because this is important to look at!

​Theoretically
ADVERB

• In a way that relates to the theory of a subject or area of study rather than its practical application. 'the method has been studied theoretically,’ ‘the concept is theoretically flawed.’
• According to theory rather than experience or practice. ‘This scenario is theoretically possible, but not very likely.’

There are books full of perspective on things such as Decision Theory. Simply put it is the treatment of all aspects of choice. It is also considered the foundation of the behavioral and social sciences. On the other hand, Philosophical decision theory examines and refines decision theory’s philosophical claims. Its primary subject is rational choice. Thus, it treats normal decisions in life matters and is allied with branches of philosophy such as epistemology which is the investigation of what distinguishes justified belief from opinion. and ethics. Decision theory assists epistemology in its study of rational belief and assists ethics in its study of good acts, goals, and character traits.

Now I know that is a lot to take in so allow me to blow some holes in the philosophical principles surrounding theoretical decision making.

Romans 1:17 KJV
[17] For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.

Let’s get right to simplicity!

There was a young woman whose husband left her. Not long after that she went to school and became a lawyer, She married a great Christian guy and continued to practice law. It wasn’t long that the couple discovered that they were unable to have children. This is their story! She is quoted as saying “Theoretically, if I had been able to have children in my first marriage maybe things would be different.”

Hmmm!  This just doesn’t jive with the idea that the just shall live by faith. Another problem is that it is horribly confusing for other christians to see conflicting views and mis-understandings of what God has been doing in any of our individual stories. At some point, we can't give credence to the ways that seem right in our own eyes. A walk of faith demonstrates rest and trust in the work that God is doing in us even when we don't fully understand how He is authoring our story. Furthermore, we all have to come to a place in our walk where we recognize our position in Christ in and reconcile it with what the Author and finisher of our faith has done in our story.

Now back to the story of this young woman. What if she did have children in her first marriage?  Would she still be locked in an abusive relationship? Would she be where she is now? It’s all theoretical yes. but it has also been part of a bigger story of what God does in the lives of broken vessels like me and you.
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The point of this thought is to free us from the chains of theoretical responses in our choices and in the navigation of lives. Just because you are in a rut doesn’t mean that God isn’t producing something in you. Just because you life has had storms doesn’t mean that shipwrecks didn’t have a purpose in your story. Grace positions us for being the winners in the fight of faith. Our strength is in the Lord.