Will we have bodies in heaven?
If a little girl like me grew up worshipping false gods, why is her faith wrong and mine is right?
If Jesus is inside me, does he get rid of all the unhealthy food I eat?
s Jesus or the Holy Spirit in my heart?
These were the questions my kids threw at me on a random trip home from the dentist. It’s like they wait until I’m off my guard to unleash their best doctrinal ammo. “Wait till your pastor daddy gets home” only worked up to a certain age.
A few years ago I started studying a basic systematic theology. I studied in order to be a better Bible teacher and writer, but in reality that’s about 5% of how I’ve used it in my life. The other 95% has gone to my children. I had no idea when I started this journey how God would use it to impact my mothering.
Theology is simply the study of God. Every time we study to learn more about God, we are studying theology. Systematic theology is studying what the Bible teaches about God consistently throughout his word.
I’m not sure there’s a demographic of laypeople more in need of good systematic theology than mothers and grandmothers. We are the first responders to the next generation’s tender young questions. We are where they learn it’s safe to question. We’re the ones who answer the same questions day after day (after day) because our little ones need to hear the exact same truths repeated until they’re pressed down confidently into their little hearts.
We want to be sure the answers we give them aren’t just things we think are true or seem true. Not our opinions. Not cultural platitudes. Not religious or denominational tradition. We want to give them the rock solid, unfiltered, eternally true word of God. Our children and grandchildren’s worldview is shaped one answer at a time.
Good biblical theology will influence your preschooler. Ask any mom or grandmother (or children’s ministry volunteer!): our preschoolers ask seminary-level questions about God every day. Their hands may be small; their questions are not. They need moms and grandmas who have a biblically fortified view of God.
Biblical theology will also influence our teenagers who are pressured every day by a depraved and twisted culture. It’s also for your adult children as you continue to share your wisdom and point them to Christ. We are often the first ones approached by all our family for advice and answers. We must give them the word of God.
Good theology gives us confidence about what the Bible teaches on a subject. It’s also encouraging to know what the Bible doesn’t teach in order to be on guard against man-made rules and traditions that are nowhere in God’s word.
I chose a simple systematic theology that I studied leisurely over three years. No pressure. No requirements. Even reading one chapter will bring fruit in your mothering and grandmothering, guaranteed.
Why do we need theology when we can just read the Bible? Systematic theology organizes topics from the bible in a helpful way. Rather than searching the entire Bible for verses on gender identity, the trinity, or heaven and hell, for example, a good systematic book will compile most or all that the bible teaches on these topics. Study theology alongside your bible.
Theology is not just for pastors. It’s not just for Sunday School teachers or seminary students. It’s for every mom and grandmother to whom the next generation of Christ-followers has been entrusted. We’re not trying to be scholars; we’re diaper changers, swing-pushers, carpool-drivers, and career-workers who want every single word we teach our children and grandchildren to line up with scripture. May God raise up biblically grounded, theologically fortified young men and women from our homes, confident to stand for Christ in the persecution that’s coming. It starts at home.
