As of recently I have spent some time being engaged by the Re:Lit group that is a part of the Crossway Publishing Company. Begin by Pastor Mark Driscoll, this program was built to collect a group of writers that are committed to speaking the truth about spiritual, biblical, and societal issues in a text format. Many of you may recognize this from the popular book Doctrine by Mark Driscoll. Although this book is on my list to read/purchase it is not the book I found myself reading recently. Instead, I got my hands on Redemption by Mike Wilkerson. Mike is a pastor at Seattle's Mars Hill Church (which Mark Driscoll calls home as well) and he lead their counseling program. With this in mind, I felt the author would bring a fresh perspective to the problem of pain that so many authors have tried to tackle over the years.
The format being some what interesting began with the author diving into the story of the the Israelites and their problem with suffering, idol worship, and death. Intermixed with this biblical story from the Old Testament are real life stories of christians and non-christians alike who are struggling with a God that not only allows suffering in this world, but has allowed suffering to take over their lives. The pages are covered in the tears and blood of those who are suffering because of the sins and destruction of this world. But what this book doesn't do is point the finger at each individual person's sin, instead, it focuses on the hope and redemption that can be found through a relationship with Christ and his church. It calls those who are suffering fall on their knees in prayer and call on the hope of a savior that died for their sins. It also calls the church to have arms open wide for those who are suffering to come running. The author's writers calls the church to get out of the judgement seat and instead kneel down with those who are suffering and love them.
I could not agree more with this idea. I have dealt with problems of suffering myself, as well as been involved with people who are suffering through personal sin, addictions, and other "idols" that seem to steal their worship. I have been encouraged to not only kneel down with these people, but to allow them to share the burdens they feel on the shoulders of the church. For the church is supposed to be a place of redemption and hope. Right now the church is a place of judgement and condemnation and I do not want to be that type of Christian. I am constantly in prayer that God will change me and allow the redemption of the cross to flow through me.
If you are struggling with suffering, the problem of pain, or any other afflictions please speak with someone you trust or speak with me through twitter: @normallyINDIE or Facebook: Alec Tod.
till another day,
normallyINDIE
Indie Thoughts // Normal Mind
Showing posts with label Death. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Death. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Saturday, August 6, 2011
God, why me?
The Problem of Pain. This is a timeless question that is at the center of most people's lives at some point or another. I know personally I have asked God numerous times, "Why me?" Why do we have to be hurt even though we are followers of God? Why do we have to tragically loss those we love? Why are we sometimes treated like Job of the Bible? Does God truly care about us in the midst of suffering and how do we see God communicated in a world that is so filled with destruction, it is clouded.
I had the opportunity to recently read The Problem of Pain by C.S. Lewis as a part of my study through the Signature Classics. This is a novel that is not unlike the rest of his writings, a novel that is describing the fact that our life is filled with hurt, but how does this communicate the love found in Christ. This is the question the Lewis wrestles with and what is interesting is that he never states that our life should be centered on our suffering or that our suffering is a flook, but instead our suffering is an opportunity for us to praise God.
Like the story of Job, Lewis illustrates the fact that our suffering is a testament to fall back on Christ. That our suffering is an opportunity to say Christ is the center of my life despite this suffering that seems to cripple. But these opportunities are the opportunities that truly build my character as a follower of Christ.
This past year I have personally dealt with suffering in the form of running into death face to face. On February 14th I got a call that one of the students that we work with at Bloc Ministries was shot and killed. Although this student was not my son or brother, I truly felt the weight of his death on our ministry and my life as a follower of Christ. I asked the question of "Why us God, why him?". It was not a few weeks later that my fiancé and I were faced with death again, when her grandmother died. This was devastating for my fiancé, just the fact that we saw death face to face. Again we asked the question "Why God?"
But after reading this book and looking back it does not make the sting of these tragedies any less, but it made me realize that in these situations my trust in God was built. Also my dedication to meeting the physical and emotional needs of others is what makes us true followers of Christ. For there is nothing more organic than life and death. And there is no better opportunity to seek God than in these two situations.
We Miss you Grandma Schroeder and Deore
Until Another Day
normallyINDIE
I had the opportunity to recently read The Problem of Pain by C.S. Lewis as a part of my study through the Signature Classics. This is a novel that is not unlike the rest of his writings, a novel that is describing the fact that our life is filled with hurt, but how does this communicate the love found in Christ. This is the question the Lewis wrestles with and what is interesting is that he never states that our life should be centered on our suffering or that our suffering is a flook, but instead our suffering is an opportunity for us to praise God.
Like the story of Job, Lewis illustrates the fact that our suffering is a testament to fall back on Christ. That our suffering is an opportunity to say Christ is the center of my life despite this suffering that seems to cripple. But these opportunities are the opportunities that truly build my character as a follower of Christ.
This past year I have personally dealt with suffering in the form of running into death face to face. On February 14th I got a call that one of the students that we work with at Bloc Ministries was shot and killed. Although this student was not my son or brother, I truly felt the weight of his death on our ministry and my life as a follower of Christ. I asked the question of "Why us God, why him?". It was not a few weeks later that my fiancé and I were faced with death again, when her grandmother died. This was devastating for my fiancé, just the fact that we saw death face to face. Again we asked the question "Why God?"
But after reading this book and looking back it does not make the sting of these tragedies any less, but it made me realize that in these situations my trust in God was built. Also my dedication to meeting the physical and emotional needs of others is what makes us true followers of Christ. For there is nothing more organic than life and death. And there is no better opportunity to seek God than in these two situations.
We Miss you Grandma Schroeder and Deore
Until Another Day
normallyINDIE
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